


Gray Whirlpool

by PT_Piranha



Series: Gray Whirlpool [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/F, F/M, FE Fates spoilers, Family Reunions, Festivals, Guy Fieri parody, Humor, Kaze allegedly dying, Parody, angry cowboy father, fire puns, speaking in third person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-14
Updated: 2016-07-08
Packaged: 2018-07-14 23:32:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7195691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PT_Piranha/pseuds/PT_Piranha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hoshido and Nohr are engaged in a war with each other. Is Lady Corrin a bad enough dude to make a decision and choose which country (and family) she will stand beside? May contain spoilers for all three routes and more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pilot

_"_ _ATTACK!"_

_A black-armored horseman ordered his legion to storm the field, ready to subdue the opposing forces. But what he did not expect was a red-clad man with long hair and a lightning-covered sword. The beastly man dashed across the field, cutting down anyone in his path._

_"_ _See your death… see your death… see your death..." He missed one. "Whoops. I'll come back for you later."_

_The black-armored man shut his eyes. "Oh come on! What do we pay you guys that he can just one-shot all of you?"_

_The angry samurai turned his attention to the horseman. "Nohrian General! You face High Prince Ryoma of-"_

_"_ _WHAT?" the man asked. Ryoma repeated himself._

_"_ _I said you are facing Ryoma, the prince of Hoshido!"_

_"_ _WHAT?"_

_Ryoma pointed his blade. "Don't make me repeat myself!"_

_"_ _I CAN'T HEAR YOU FROM UP HERE! HOLD ON A SECOND!" shouted the man identified as Nohrian. He waved the horse's reins and the steed charged forth, down the hill. Finally, he reached Ryoma and stopped. "Okay, easy boy, easy! Now… Who are you?"_

_Ryoma blinked. "… Prince Ryoma of Hoshido."_

_"_ _Oh. What a coincidence, I'm a prince too. Prince Xander of Nohr. I'd shake your hand, but we're kind of in the middle of war," Xander stated. Ryoma nodded._

_"_ _Yeah, that'd be kind of wrong."_

_"_ _So… I suppose we fight now," suggested Xander. "I don't know, usually there's not this much talking." He looked around. "And now some of the soldiers are starting to stare…"_

_Ryoma sighed. "Look just… we'll both step back a few paces, then charge at each other with our swords, it'll be like nothing ever happened."_

_"_ _Can I keep the horse?"_

_Ryoma made a face. "What kind of question is that? Just do it!"_

_"_ _Fine." Xander scowled at Ryoma. "But not for you."_

_With that, the two princes established distance, drew their swords and charged._

_"_ _FOR HOSHIDO!"_

_"_ _BECAUSE FATHER TOLD ME TO!"_

* * *

_Elsewhere, a young albino woman with black and white armor was being attacked by a crazed axe man._

_"_ _LOOK OUT!"_

_A red-clad woman with red hair rushed past on a Pegasus, using a Guard Naginata to block the axe from hitting the black and white woman. The rider turned to the one she was protecting. "You gotta be more careful, sister! You were just standing there!"_

_The berserker groaned. "Interference! Stay out of this fight, it doesn't concern you!" Without another word, the red woman hit the guy with her spear. "Ow! Gaah! Fine, I'll go! Geez… no-good Pegasus riders, stealing our jobs…"_

_The younger sister was about to respond, but her voice was drowned out by the two princes from earlier. Strangely, she could hear them despite their distance._

* * *

_"_ _Tell me, Prince of Nohr! Why are you invading Hoshido?!"_

_"_ _Uh… Well… you know…"_

_"_ _No I don't know. TELL ME!"_

_"_ _Oh you'll find out, I'm about to summon it!" The dark prince held aloft a black sword that had a crimson glow. A beam shot from the sword at Ryoma, but the samurai dodged it._

_"_ _You'll have to wake up pretty early to think you can hit me that easily."_

_Xander frowned. "I woke up at five!"_

_Off to the distance, three people in similar dark clothing were watching the battle. One was atop a dragon, and she had long and purple hair. The other was a young horseman with a high collar and blonde hair. The last was a young horsewoman with long, blonde twintails. She gasped. "Oh no! Xander didn't wake up early enough, you guys! What will he do now?"_

_The purple-haired woman smiled. "Oh don't worry Elise, I saw a Dragon Vein somewhere."_

_This caused the horseman to raise an eyebrow. "Somewhere?"_

_"_ _Okay so I didn't memorize its exact position, but I'm sure I can find it again. Have a little faith in me, Leo," said the older woman. The man named Leo groaned in response. "Oh look, a bunny." Leo groaned even louder. "Found it!"_

_The wyvern-riding woman found a patch of land with a glowing aura. She closed her eyes and focused, then suddenly the water in a nearby river dried up. Leo smiled for once. "Good. Now we can help. Elise, stay behind us. You're a healer and can't fight, so they'll probably want to go for you immediately."_

_"_ _Aww!"_

* * *

_The Pegasus-riding woman gasped. "What?! They can use Dragon Veins too?! But if only royals can do it, that means-"_

_"_ _We're fighting the Big Cheese of Nohr." A young man with an incredibly long ponytail finished her sentence. The redheaded girl gave him a look._

_"…_ _What did you just call them?"_

_"_ _Err, nothing! Don't look at me!" The boy nervously turned away. "Just… go back to what you were doing!"_

_"…_ _Okay… I'm going to support Ryoma. The rest of you stay here." With that, the older woman flew off. This left the albino girl, the ponytailed man, and a young shrine maiden who had accompanied him._

_"_ _N-n-now what, Takumi?" asked the maiden._

_The man with long hair shrugged and pulled out a fancy bow. "Well… you know…"_

_"_ _Um… I'm afraid… I don't know."_

_"_ _Sakura, don't do this to me!"_

_The maiden looked down. "I'm sorry."_

* * *

_Over the commotion of other soldiers fighting, a bald man with a beard lazily waltzed onto the battlefield with another squadron of Nohrian soldiers. "KILL THE HOSHIDANS! HANS NO CARE IF YOU DIE! TAKE THE HOSHIDANS WITH YOU!"_

_One soldier blanched. "You don't even care about me? But you said I was your favorite!"_

_"_ _HANS LIE! KILL THEM ALL! KING GARON SAY HANS CAN KILL SOLDIERS IF SOLDIERS UPSET HANS!"_

_Across the field, a bespectacled man came in, riding on a mechanical lion. He was leading a group of knee-high automata. "Drive all of them out of Hoshido! Go now at once!"_

* * *

_The albino woman was talking to Takumi and Sakura, but she could not recall what about. At that point, their conversation was interrupted when a spearman came running at them._

_"_ _I was Hans' favorite! I must regain his favor!"_

_Takumi glared and drew an arrow. "Allow me!" The arrow flew, and hit the spearman. "Ha! Did you see that, Sakura? I bet Ryoma and Hinoka couldn't make that shot!"_

_Sakura raised her eyebrows. "Uh, I g-guess not…? Why?"_

_The white-haired woman motioned for Takumi and Sakura to follow her. They both nodded and followed. It took a few moments, but they reached Ryoma and the Pegasus rider, Hinoka, holding their own against Xander. They were not currently attacking each other._

_"_ _You're all okay!" Hinoka cheered. Ryoma nodded._

_"_ _Good to see it."_

_Xander turned his attention to the black and white girl. He wiped sweat from his brow. "Oh thank the gods you're all right, Little Princess. Did these Hoshidans try to harm you in any way?!"_

_Sakura's eyes bulged. "M-me?"_

_"_ _No! Don't be foolish, I'm talking to her!" Xander said, pointing at the girl in white and black armor. "You're not my sister,_ she _is."_

 _"_ _Uh, how about no?" responded Takumi with a glare. "Look I didn't like her at first, but she's_ our _sister."_

_Leo, on his horse and leading the two who were with him before, had made it to the scene. "For, what, two weeks tops? I don't think Camilla would agree."_

_The wyvern-riding woman huffed, "I would not. She's our adorable sister. You may_ not _have her."_

_Elise nodded. "Oh, you could take Leo instead!"_

_Leo had nothing, save for a dark glare at his sister._

_Ryoma turned to the subject of their argument. "Don't listen to him. Hoshido is your homeland!"_

_Xander dismounted his horse and stepped closer. "Okay but think about it. Chopsticks. Do you really think you can use those forever? I've tried, they are impossible!"_

_"_ _Choose Hoshido!"_

_"_ _Choose Nohr!"_

_"…_ _m to w…up"_

_"_ _Hoshido!"_

_"_ _Nohr!"_

_"_ _La…rin it's…k up!"_

_"_ _Hoshido!"_

_"_ _Nohr!"_

_"_ _LADY CORRIN, IT'S TIME TO WAKE UP, I SAID!"_

* * *

The white-haired girl's eyes shot open. She started breathing heavily. "Augh… That dream again…"

By Corrin's bed were two maids, with pink hair and one with blue hair. A little further from the bed was an elderly knight with lilac hair and a scar on his face, standing next to a younger man in a nice suit and wearing gauntlets. The pink-haired maid spoke first. She was beaming. "Wow, sounds like a real crazy one. Good thing I woke you up from it! Right, Flora?"

The other maid seemed indifferent. "… Indeed."

Corrin sat up and yawned. "Is it… dark outside…? I could go back to sleep…"

The elderly knight cleared his throat. "Might I remind you that you have practice today, princess?"

"But Gunteeeeer! It's so dark out! And I'm still sleepy…"

For once, the blue-haired maid seemed to smile. "Well, Felicia and I have just the thing for that."

"What are you talking abou- Oh no." Two sets of hands emanated a cold breeze, right in Corrin's face. "AAAAAAH!" Corrin fell out of bed. "Aaaah! I hate it when you do that, waaaa!"

Flora smirked. "Are you awake yet?"

"Mmm! I bet my brothers and sisters don't have to deal with this!"

The last servant to speak, the butler with gauntlets cleared his throat. "Now, now, Lady Corrin. Even I hate mornings, but I don't let morning crankiness affect how I treat others."

"Not when it's her you're speaking to, anyway," Gunter snarked, receiving a glare from the butler. Corrin stood up, sighing. "Lady Corrin, might I ask why you were sleeping in your armor?"

Corrin shrugged. "I just thought I'd be ready in the morning faster. So what's going on today?"

"You're training with Xander today," Gunter replied.

The butler winced. "And I… Well, I would have cleaned your armor and removed some of the scratches, that it would look nice in time for your sparring session with your brother today. But then you went to bed in it."

"Oh. Sorry, Jakob!"

Jakob continued. "And I would have polished your boots, but for some ghastly reason you never seem to wear them."

"Not sorry about that." Jakob sighed, and Corrin spoke again. "But Xander! He's coming today, I forgot! I wonder if that dream was trying to remind me or something…"

As Corrin mused, Jakob took back the conversation. "This dream seems to be weighing on you. You were kicking your leg in your sleep a lot, this morning. Like a dog. What happened in your dream?"

"Well, I was fighting with some Hoshidan people, and they kept calling me their sister. But my actual brothers and sisters were there. They all started fighting over me. It kind of reminded me of that dream where I decided to join a tournament out of nowhere."

"Wow, cool dream!" Felicia commented. "Right, Flora?"

The other maid raised her eyebrow. "… Sure, yes, fascinating." She could not have said that with less interest. "Lady Corrin, why don't you just prepare for your training? Unless you still feel a little drowsy."

"Aah! No! I'm good!" Corrin waved her hands. "Completely awake!"

Everyone but Corrin laughed.

* * *

In an outdoor area, Corrin was engaged in a swordfight against Xander. They both sparred with bronze practice swords, though Xander clearly had the edge. Corrin was knocked on her back, winded.

_Gods but Xander is tough! I'm so happy my siblings are visiting me in the fortress, but does it have to come with these training sessions attached?_

Leo was nearby and reading a book, disinterested. He was so disinterested, that he did not even seem to notice that his high collar was inside-out. "Get 'im Corrin, rah, rah. Be aggressive, and all that. … Ooh, I didn't know worms could do that."

Xander scoffed. "Don't tell me that this is all that your training has done for you! Corrin, I didn't want to tell you this, but Father said that if you do not at least land a hit today, you may not be allowed to leave the Northern Fortress."

Corrin sat back up, gasped. "Really?! Noooo!" She looked at Leo expectantly. The boy was still enveloped in his reading. Xander's booming voice reclaimed her attention.

"So come on, Corrin, use that elongated 'no' to fuel you! Hit me! Strike as if you intend to kill me!"

"B-but I don't want to kill you! What if there's some freak accident and I actually do kill you?!"

Xander stared. "… Corrin, don't insult me like that."

"Ohh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, it's just-"

"Calm down, Little Princess. Just… clear your mind and think about how badly you want to live at home with us, and not here. Keep that in your mind and let that motivate you to win! It can all be yours, if you just land a single hit! Isn't that right, Leo?"

Leo was still reading. "… Wait, seahorses can do _what?!_ "

The princess got back up and caught her breath. "All right… For our family, I must!"

The crown prince smiled. "Good, Corrin. Feel that motivation, remember your- Oh gods!"

Corrin was already before him, and performed a jumping slash attack. Xander barely brought up his sword in time to block, but then lost his balance and fell off his horse. The horse whinnied and trotted away.

"… Ouch."

Corrin gasped and ran over to Xander, offering her hand. The prince took it and his sister pulled him back up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah… I guess that counts as a hit, since you knocked me off my horse. Congratulations Corrin, you get to come home!"

Her ruby eyes widened. "Really?! Thank goodness, I missed you all so much!" She immediately hugged Xander, causing the prince to laugh.

"Easy, there."

Corrin turned to Leo. "Leo, I get to come home now!"

"Who writes this drivel?! Frogs are not reptiles!" muttered the younger prince, under his breath. "Hmm. My collar feels a little odd."

"Oh, that's because it's inside-out," Corrin said, letting go of Xander. Leo's eyes widened.

"Uhh- I know! I… did it on purpose!"

"Why?"

Leo broke into a sweat. "Well… it's… you know…"

She shook her head. "No, I don't know."

"Uh… It's a mage thing!"

Xander whispered into Corrin's ear. " _No it's not_." She giggled.

At about that time, Camilla and Elise walked up to the battlefield. Camilla called out to Xander. "Brother, your horse is terrorizing Felicia. Again."

"For crying out loud, Sieghorse…" Xander said to himself.

Camilla turned her attention to Corrin immediately. "Aww poor Corrin. Did Xander hurt you at all?"

"Nope, I'm fine!"

"Are you sure?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Are you _suuuure?_ "

"Uh… yes."

"Reeeeally sur-"

"She's sure!" Leo shouted.

By this time, Elise ran up to Corrin and tackle-hugged her out of nowhere. "Aaah!"

"Heehee! Hi Corrin! Did you miss me? Huh? Huh?!" Corrin giggled again and set her sister down. "I love you so much, big sister! More than anything in the world!"

Leo looked indignant. "Wow. I see where we stand now, Elise."

Xander put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "I think that collar might be getting to you."

"N-no! Anyway… Elise, you are technically an adult now. Very, very technically. Could you at least grow up _a little?_ "

"You know, Mr. Grouch, I can be like that too," Corrin said with a tone of mock sternness. "Don't listen to him, Elise. Just be yourself."

The older princess's eyes lit up. "Oh, that reminds me! Corrin, Father asked us to bring you to the Capital! Your stay in this dreary old fortress is over!"

Corrin nodded, a big smile on her face. "Oh yeah, because I was able to beat Xander in training!"

"Well…" Xander rubbed the back of his neck. "I haven't been entirely truthful to you. We were going to do that regardless. But now I feel better about it, since you beat me."

"Jerk!" Corrin and Elise shouted at once. Xander chuckled.

"Yeah, I know…"

Corrin's smile returned. "But I can't believe the day is finally here! I've been in this fortress for as long as I can remember! I can't wait to tell Flora and Felicia, and Jakob and Gunter and Lilith… I wonder if they'll all come with me."

Camilla glanced at Leo. "Leo, dear, your collar is inside-out."

The bookish prince sighed. "… Okay, thanks."

* * *

The wheels had begun to turn, and Corrin's departure was at hand. Alongside her siblings, Corrin was in the fortress entryway with Gunter, Jakob, Felicia, Flora and one more servant. This servant had striking yellow eyes, braided blue hair that turned red, and wore a blue dress. The most notable feature was a red birthmark on her forehead. She was speaking to Corrin currently.

"I'm so happy you can leave, Corrin! Too bad you can't sneak me food from the kitchen, anymore."

"What?!" Jakob squawked.

"Uhh! Nothing!"

Corrin laughed. "I'll miss you too, Lilith."

Gunter nodded. "All right, then. Jakob, Lilith, you're both coming with us. Lilith to look after the horses, and Jakob because I think he might actually die if he's not within 50 meters of Lady Corrin."

"You can count on me," Lilith and Jakob both said, curtseying and bowing respectively for Lady Corrin. The princess smiled.

"I take that back, Lilith. I won't miss you, since you get to come with us!"

"I know! I didn't think he'd actually let me! This is wonderful!" Lilith clasped her hands. Gunter turned to the other servants.

"Felicia, you're in charge of the fortress. Flora, you're in charge of Felicia."

"We've got this! Goodbye, Lady Corrin!"

"Understood. Safe journey."

Corrin frowned. "Wait…" Before Gunter could go tend to something else, Corrin called after him. "Wait, Gunter…" With the knight's attention, she whispered into his ear. " _Are you sure we can't bring Flora and Felicia? Because… you know…_ "

" _I remember, milady, but…_ " at that point, Gunter was speaking less to Corrin and more to himself. " _I know what I'm doing._ "

"Okay…" Corrin was not pleased. _He might have some weird habits, but I'll trust his judgment. He's always been like a father to me, since Father himself never visits._ She shuddered. _I remember that time I said as much to Xander. I got scared and begged him not to repeat it to anyone. Apparently Father can be quite scary._

The sound of Xander's voice interrupted Corrin's musings. "So Lilith, are the horses ready now?"

"Yes sir! Even Sieghorse!"

"Excellent. Let us be off!"

"Yaaaay!" cheered Elise. "We can leave this dank fortress behind! Oh! No offense, Felicia and Flora! I don't mean it's bad here! I just… oh shoot! I'm sorry."

Flora forced a smile. "It's all right, Lady Elise. It can be… smothering to be in here sometimes."

Corrin smiled. "If Father asks, I'll tell him you've both been great! Oh I'm so excited to meet him!"

Everyone else in the room, except Lilith, all cringed a little when they heard Corrin say that. Camilla cleared her throat. "Yes, well… Just know that Father can be a little… blunt. But I'm sure we'll be fine. Let's go."

"Yes!"

With that, everyone made their way out of the fortress. Gunter was the last one out the door, and he turned back to the maids. With a wink, he told them, "Both of you… Do as you must."

The girls smiled. Felicia's smile was earnest, while the nature of Flora's smile was a little more nebulous. Only she spoke. "Understood."

Outside, Corrin was led to the carriages, with Elise leading her by the hand, chattering away.

"Not to interrupt," Xander interrupted, "but Corrin, you will need to wear proper footwear before Father."

Corrin stifled a groan. "… Okay. I want to make a good first impression for him."

Leo practically whispered. "Because gods know he won't make a good one for you."

This caught Corrin's attention. "What was that?"

"Oh, nothing."

**To be continued.**


	2. Garon Family Happy Hour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corrin finally meets her father, who is quite a character in his own right...

The journey to Windmire took the better part of the day, but Corrin was full-to-bursting with excitement the whole time. Each and every mundanity on the carriage ride fascinated the princess. Not even wearing a pair of Leo's spare boots brought down her mood. The gray skies looked brighter, the trees looked slightly less dead, and she could see more of the dried grass under the snow. It was great.

Corrin was very eager to keep conversation and observations going for the whole ride. While most of the others were willing to go along with it, near the end of the ride, only Corrin and Elise had their energy left. Jakob was moaning internally, but did not show any outward disinterest in his lady's endless talking. Everyone but the three had fallen asleep, forcing the princesses to converse in hushed tones.

" _And wait until you meet Arthur and Effie, they're amazing! Arthur's super nice, and Effie's way strong!_ " Elise boasted.

" _Wow, they sound like a lot of fun to be around,_ " Corrin said with a smile. " _And Castle Krakenburg is really built into a giant hole in the ground?"_

" _Yeah, but…_ " Elise interrupted herself with a yawn. " _I don't remember why…_ "

Elise went out like a light, which left Corrin and Jakob.

Corrin frowned. " _I bet Flora would know. She always had an answer whenever I came to her with a question. I hope she and Felicia are doing okay. I still wonder why Gunter wanted them to stay behind._ "

Jakob nodded. " _It is an oddity, since there are only two people in the whole fortress now. Especially odd how the old man did not consider your crush on Flo-"_

" _Aaah! Jakob, do you have to be so blunt?!_ "

" _Apologies, milady_."

Corrin grunted and looked out the window. Immediately something caught her attention. " _Oh, wow, who are those?_ "

The princess pointed out the window.

She saw a few knights beating a weathered older gentleman, with wild white hair and a spot of black. Jakob leaned over and took a look. " _Appears to be a generic outlaw, or self-proclaimed adventurer. It's said they're all over Nohr, with their own underground network."_

" _So cool!"_

" _Er, not quite, milady_." Then it hit Jakob. Lady Corrin had been sheltered her whole life. She was now about to learn just how ugly Nohr could be. He shuddered.

* * *

Finally, at dusk, the carriage had made it to the capital of Windmire. After passing the guards, the carriage proceeded to pass along, into the crater itself. When they reached a halt, everyone stepped out.

Corrin and her servants were the last to disembark. While Jakob led Corrin to follow her family toward King Garon in the prison block, Gunter kept Lilith behind. "Lilith, I think it would be best if you stayed with the carriage and then report to your quarters."

Lilith frowned, but nodded. "A-alright. Though I was kind of hoping to meet Lady Corrin's othe- I mean 'father'!"

"Trust me… No you don't," Gunter said with a wince. Lilith's eyes widened.

"Is… is he really that bad?" she asked. Gunter looked Lilith right in her amber eyes.

"Lilith… he is the worst man I've ever known."

* * *

Gunter's voice narrated as Corrin, Jakob, Gunter himself, and all of Corrin's siblings made their way to the prison block.

" _He's cruel._ "

They reached the destination.

" _He's cold."_

Some guards led the party to the main hall, with several cells and prisoners.

" _But worst of all…_ "

"Well tan my hide and call me sassafras, 'bout time ya dang kids showed up!" Garon hollered.

" _He's folksy._ "

Before Corrin, her family, Jakob and Gunter stood King Garon of Nohr. He was a very old man, in dark armor to match his children. His face conveyed the look of a dreadfully tired and bored old man. The king's cape was rather fluffy-looking, an odd contrast to the rest of his appearance. Everyone around him felt a little uneasy, but not Corrin. She did not see a grizzly old man, but only-

"Father! It is good to see you!"

Corrin greeted her father with the proper kneeling bow she had been taught. At first, Garon said nothing. He stood there, and stared with no sign of stopping. Eventually Xander cleared his throat.

"Father? It's your daughter. Corrin."

"Corn?! I don't remember no Corn! I only had _four_ kids left!"

Corrin went numb. _He forgot about me?! Is… is that why he put me in the Northern Fortress? Because he never wanted me to begin with? Wait, then why would he-_

"WAIT! Now I got it. Corncob. Yep, now I remember. Howdy there, daughter," Garon said, forcing a smile. Corrin quickly calmed down, and as a result was the only one not discomforted by Garon's forced grin. Until…

_Wait, what name did he just call me?_

"So m'boy Xander tells me he reckons you're about as powerful as him now," Garon stated.

Corrin was confused. _Did he always have this accent?_

Camilla spoke up. "Father, are you certain that _Corrin_ ," as if to subtly correct Garon, "will be all right? Here, she is not protected by the fortress's magic barrier."

Her red eyes widened. "The fortress had _what?!_ "

Garon blinked. "Wha'sat? Yeah, yeah, she'll be fine. Now, which one o y'all was Corrin again?" He turned to Leo. "Was it you?"

"No."

To Elise. "You?"

"N-no sir!"

To Gunter. "You?"

"… No."

To Camilla. "You?"

"Father, I'm the one asking about her."

"No, _I'm_ the one asking! **_Don't you talk back to your father like that, missy!_** " Garon's voice echoed throughout the prison block. All his guests, including Jakob and Gunter, fell silent. The king's gaze finally met Corrin's. "You. Yer Corrin."

"Y-yes sir."

"Good… good…" The king let out a yawn. "So you know about the war, right? With Hoshido?" Corrin nodded quickly, in equal measures of excitement and fear. "Good… good… Xander, Camilla and even Leo have all proven themselves on the battlefield."

"Wait, _even_ Leo?" the young prince questioned.

" ** _QUIET!_ **... As I was sayin', I expect no less from you. Have a sword." A purple cloud appeared before Garon. The king slowly reached into it and pulled out a giant blade. It was curved and had a wicked color scheme of black and red, accompanied by a purple aura. "Knock yerself out."

"Cooool!" Corrin's eyes practically sparkled. "My own sword! Just like Siegfried!"

Leo looked at his spell book and pouted. " _I_ still think you're cool, Brynhildr…"

Garon slowly nodded. "Yeah, that's Ganglari. Magic sword of another world. Now go kill the prisoners with it."

"So cool- Wait, what?" asked Corrin.

" ** _RELEASE THE PRISONERS!_** " Garon practically roared.

All the way at the other end of the chamber, the bars over a cell were raised, and two prisoners stepped out, wary and armed. One was a tanned warrior woman with a decorative helmet and a sarashi. The other was a ninja with green hair.

"Things are heating up!" cried the woman. The ninja shut his eyes.

"Please stop talking in fire puns."

"Now go kill them," Garon ordered Corrin, "it soothes me."

"B-but-"

"Do it or yer grounded!"

Camilla put took Corrin's free hand. "His version of grounding is a prison sentence with no food, dear. I'd listen to him."

Corrin gulped. "O-o-okay, Father. I will k-kill them for you…" _I'd always dreamed of fighting for Father and our country, but so immediately?_

"Yeah you'd better, ya dang sissy." Garon burped. "Huh. I don't remember chicken today."

Gunter walked over to Corrin and placed an arm around her shoulder. "I shall assist you, milady." He looked over his shoulder. "I presume you will join us, Jakob?"

"Wherever Lady Corrin goes, I go. Except for the restroom. Usually."

"What?! Gunter I forbid it!" Garon stomped his foot.

Gunter had to fight from rolling his eyes. "Your Majesty, you told me to serve Lady Corrin. You said I was to answer to her at all times. Correct?"

"… Yeah…"

Gunter gave his king a smirk and turned to Corrin. "Lady Corrin, do you order me to assist you?"

"Y-yes?"

"Well, hands are tied. I'm sorry Garon, except for the part where I'm not."

Garon gritted his teeth. "Dang loopholes! And what about _you?!_ " shouted the old man to Jakob. "What's _yer_ excuse?!"

Corrin thought fast. "Uh, Jakob I order you to help me and Gunter!"

"Say no more."

"NOOOO! Dang you Gunter and your loopholes! Outsmarted _again!_ If I could implicate your wife again, I would!" Garon shouted. "This execution is ruined, just go kill the prisoners already! I don't care how no more!"

Corrin, Gunter and Jakob made their way to the center of the chamber. The two prisoners were doing the same, from their end. "All right, Rinkah. We'll have to fight our way out, no other option." The ninja did not keep his eyes off the execution squad. "You take one side, and I'll take the other."

"They're toast!"

"… Okay, fine." The ninja had resigned himself to Rinkah's wordplay. "Forget I said anything." What he did not expect, was Corrin to speak to them.

"You two! Uh, prisoners! What are your names? I am Princess Corrin of Nohr!"

"Wait…" the green-haired man spoke under his breath. "She looks like-"

"I am Rinkah! I am an eternal flame!"

He sighed. "I am called Kaze. And forgive her, she's obsessed with fire puns."

Gunter leaned in to whisper to Corrin. "Remember. I fight with a lance. Also I'm on top of a horse right now." Corrin did a double-take and saw that Gunter was indeed riding a horse, despite not bringing one with him.

"What?! Where'd you even get that horse?!"

"War and I go way back."

Corrin frowned. "That doesn't answer my-"

"I fight by throwing daggers," Jakob interrupted. "I can also slash offenders with these daggers up close, and provide healing services."

"Remember how differently we fight, and instruct us with that in mind," the old man explained.

"But that still doesn't explain where you got the hors- AAH!" Corrin held up Ganglari and blocked an incoming shuriken. "Aaah!"

"What's wrong, Lady Corrin? You still blocked the attack!" Jakob cried.

"I feel… weaker. But how?"

The ninja's voice was audible, though the man himself could not be seen. "That's because my shuriken is coated with a special potion. Maybe I can't kill you, but I _can_ weaken you."

"Weaken me for what?" Corrin asked.

"MILADY!" Jakob quickly got in the way of Rinkah's attack and caught her club with his gauntlet. "Milady, this is no practice battle. Your father expects us to fight for our lives. Your orders?"

"Uhh, Jakob, go look for the ninja! Gunter and I will attack this warrior."

"You won't be doing so hot when I'm done with ya!" Rinkah taunted. Jakob merely nodded and stepped away. Rinkah tried to attack him, but Corrin hit her with Ganglari.

"Over here!"

"Aaah!"

As Rinkah was about to attack Corrin, Gunter rode past and whapped her with his lance. "Rookie mistake!"

"Oh I'm burning up now!"

* * *

Elsewhere, Jakob was looking for signs of the ninja's existence. Suddenly, the butler tensed up and turned around. He pulled out a dagger and used it to knock away a surprise shuriken. "Hmph. Years of looking after Felicia, and now I nearly have eyes in the back of my head."

Kaze pulled out another star and readied himself. "I am no fragile servant, butler. You face Suzukaze, brother of Saizo the Fifth. Or just 'Kaze' if you prefer."

"Neither Felicia nor I are fragile, rogue. I am Jakob."

"… Just Jakob?"

"Is that a problem?" the butler asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Er, no, I suppose it's n- HYA!" Kaze vanished, then reappeared right in front of Jakob, swinging his shuriken like a knife. Jakob spun out of the way and countered with his own slash. "Rrr!"

"You underestimate me."

Kaze the ninja breathed through his teeth. "It appears we are more alike than I'd thought."

Jakob nodded. "That it would."

Having caught his breath, Kaze disappeared again and Jakob readied another dagger.

* * *

Corrin and Gunter kept tag-teaming Rinkah, but she finally caught on and leapt away from the two of them. The Oni Savage gritted her teeth and gripped her club tighter. "Feel the burn!"

She ran over to Gunter and swung her club so fiercely, that when Gunter blocked with his lance, it caught fire.

"My, my!" Gunter threw the spear onto the floor. "A member of the Fire Tribe, eh? Though I should have guessed from the wordplay. Lady Corrin, I'm afraid it's up to you now. But I will shield you as necessary."

"Aww don't do that Gunter, I couldn't bear it if I had to see one of my friends die!" Now she was mad. "All right Fire Tribe girl, that's enough! This ends _now!_ "

Corrin ran over and readied an attack. Instead of a swing, she rolled along the ground. When Corrin was behind Rinkah, she performed an upward slash, catching the opponent by surprise.

"IT BURNS!"

Corrin kicked the enemy in the back of her leg to bring her to her knees, and then held Ganglari at Rinkah's throat. At that time, Kaze's battered form was thrown to the ground beside the princess. Jakob walked up, dusting his hands. "All cleaned up. This ninja will serve no further threat."

"Excellent work, you two," Gunter complimented. "Especially you, Jakob. I didn't think you'd make it."

Jakob glared daggers at Gunter. They were the only daggers usable after wasting the real ones on Kaze.

The sight of a subdued Oni and unconscious ninja warmed the black space that was once Garon's heart. The elderly king loudly cackled. "Heheheheh! That's m'girl right there, tell ya what! Now do it! Finish 'em!"

Corrin tensed up, but managed to look over to her father. "Uh, Father would it offend you if I had another idea?"

"No child o' mine is a quitter! Finish the job! Kill 'em!" Garon walked away from his spot with the others and pointed at Corrin. "You listen here, girl. You gotta salt the earth before these two seeds can sprout back up again! You want 'em to kill us? To kill Nohr? I didn't raise you to be a dang Hoshido-lover!"

Gunter rolled his eyes. "You didn't raise her at all, tyrant."

"Now kill them!"

Corrin felt much smaller with Garon standing before her. "But… they're already helpless! We could just keep them in their cell forever or something!"

"… I like that idea better," said Kaze.

"Stay out of this!" Corrin yelled. She turned back to father. "Come on Father, please?"

"NO!"

"… Pretty please?"

Garon scowled. "That's it! Iago, go get my leather belt with my name on it! Corrin, I'mma beat you and brand you at the same time! Yeehaw!" Garon rolled his shoulder, ready to use it in the name of enforcement, when Xander ran up.

"Hey. Father. How about you just let me do it? Corrin's tired, and she doesn't really understand our situation with Hoshido."

Garon's eye twitched. "Hrrrr! First Gunter, then Corncob… Fine Xander, you can kill them danged Hoshidans! And you'd better kill Corrin if she tries to stop you! Now I know you ain't riding a horse right now, but try not to screw it up for once, all right?!"

If one man could cow Xander, it was his father. "Y-yes, Father…"

Elise turned to Camilla in confusion, and the older princess whispered. " _Xander's a little infamous for botching executions. He keeps cutting the wrong parts by accident. One time he even accidentally stabbed a prisoner in the- … On second thought, never mind._ "

Xander approached Rinkah and Kaze, but Corrin stepped in the way. "Xander, please!"

"You heard him, Corrin. Stand down."

"Xander no!" she cried.

"Xander yes!" Garon shouted.

The princess pleaded. "They can't even fight anymore, Xander! How is this just?!"

Rinkah shrugged. "Eh. I still have a small flame burning."

"Rinkah, I swear to the gods-" Kaze started. Whether it was for jinxing their situation or giving another fire idiom, all were unsure.

Xander took a deep breath. "Corrin, I give you until the count of three before I attack, and I _will_ attack."

"Oh _really?_ " asked Jakob ominously.

"Boo! Do it right now! C'mon, I got things to do!" Garon heckled.

"Noooo!" Elise whined. "Xander and Corrin fighting, that's my worst nightmare! Camilla do something!"

Camilla turned to her brother. "Leo do something!"

Leo rolled his eyes. "Fine… It seems I have to do everything for you people…" He casually opened his spell book and chanted under his breath. Some thick roots emerged from the ground. Corrin and Jakob quickly jumped back in time for the roots to devour Rinkah and Kaze, taking them into the ground. Leo closed the book and gave Garon a smug grin. "Oh Father, I killed the prisoners for you!"

"Leo, why?!" Corrin asked, now on the verge of tears. "They could've-"

"Whatever! Er, good job, son." The king gave an actual compliment.

"Wow, genuine praise. That… You haven't done that in… a while…" Leo's smugness lost momentum. "Uh, Father, might I ask that maybe you could be merciful to our sister?"

"… Maybe." With that, Garon stomped away, muttering under his breath. "Danged sissy Hoshido-lovin' brat… gotta beat sense into her, ain't gonna win a war with hugs an' rainbows…"

When Garon left the chamber, Corrin leveled a glare at Leo, eyes still watering. "Leo, you… you murderer!"

"Uh, yeah. We _are_ in a war. Except for the part where I didn't kill those two." The smugness of the young prince had returned. Corrin raised an eyebrow, still not quite calmed.

"But you said-"

Gunter leaned in and whispered. " _He was lying, Lady Corrin. People do that._ "

"You mean-"

Leo nodded. "Brynhildr will spit them back out somewhere else, at a location of my choosing. Now, I don't defy Father's orders at the drop of a hat, but Elise and Camilla hate to see you upset."

"Aww, you're so nice to Corrin to be nice to us, Leo! I'm sorry you thought I didn't love you!" Elise smiled, giving Leo a hug. He decided not to disclose that his deed was borne from irritation, not empathy. Xander sheathed Siegfried and turned to Corrin.

"Corrin, that was very foolish of you. One day, someone will take advantage of your trust and kill you."

His little sister would have none of that, she countered with a glare. "Well maybe that's how I'd want to go, then. At least it'd be on my terms."

"Well… no it wouldn't, since you'd be murdered," corrected the crown prince. "But I get the spirit behind what you're saying. Just know that Father never forgets a grudge. He still taunts me for my failed executions. And he still makes fun of Elise for that time she spilled the milk when she was age three."

"It was heavy!" the princess protested.

* * *

In the city streets, Xander and Corrin stood before a groggy pair of prisoners. Rinkah and Kaze had been returned from the earth.

"You… look familiar," Kaze meant to say in his head, but truly said it to Corrin.

"Me?"

"Silence! Corrin took pity on you-"

"No, just human decency," Corrin corrected. "There's a difference."

"Not in Nohr. Anyway!" Xander threw two small sacks on the ground for the prisoners. "Take these and leave. But if you get caught again, you _will_ die."

Kaze nodded and took his bag. He disappeared immediately, and Rinkah cringed.

"So… 'Corrin', huh?" The tribal woman stood up and grabbed her supplies. "You will flicker out one day. But for now, the fire in your eyes-"

"Rinkah! There's no time!" called an invisible Kaze. Rinkah groaned and ran off. Xander and Corrin watched them leave. The princess turned to her brother.

"Do you think they'll escape?"

Xander thought for a moment. "They'd better, or else Leo is in big trouble."

"Oh. Oh yeah…"

**To be continued.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's the second chapter. I posted it a little early this time. So let's see what we've learned about our characters. Corrin likes Flora, Gunter and Garon openly hate each other, Garon is a redneck/cowboy type, Rinkah can't stop speaking in fire puns, and Xander's hilariously bad at executing people. Also, we get a cameo early in the chapter. If you know who he is, it shouldn't be hard to catch.
> 
> I suppose the biggest takeaway from this chapter is Cowboy Garon. To be honest, I don't remember how I thought of it. It's just fun to sound like an angry cowboy when you're ranting, and Garon's angry all the time, so I went with that. But this is no ordinary parody quirk for the character: I tried to imply that even in-universe this quirk confused the characters. Almost as if it's something Garon just picked up one day.
> 
> Character pairings is a big part of the game and fanbase, so I imagine people will want to know what my ship plans are? Well, I'm not really a romantic so I hadn't put much thought into it. The plan is to base it off the pairs I put together in my save files. The only one hinted right now is Corrin & Flora, based off my Conquest save. Though I was male Corrin in Conquest. I just happen to like female Corrin more, and I kept the ship anyway for a few reasons. So if you're really picky about certain ships, I don't know what to tell you, because I'm just going with my save files' flow.
> 
> And with that, another chapter written. Remember to keep me or this story on your alert if you wish to see how I'll handle the route splitting.


	3. From Nohr, with Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corrin goes on her first mission for King Garon, but her escort is a bloodthirsty maniac. Fun times.

Corrin and Elise stood outside Garon's throne room in Castle Krakenburg. Elise was smiling.

"All right, Corrin! You can apologize to Father and I'll help as much as possible!"

The elder princess nodded. "Sounds good."

"I'll sneak up and put a bag on his head, and you punch 'im! Heehee!"

"Wait, what?!" Corrin turned to her little sister. Elise's eyes shot open and she began to sweat a little.

"Uh, forget that last part! Heh… heh…" As Corrin proceeded to knock on the door, Elise faced down the hall to a muscular man with blonde hair slicked back. She crossed her arms and mouthed 'no'. The man nodded and retreated into the shadows.

"CONSARN IT, CAN'T A MAN WRITE HIS DIARY- I MEAN, PRAY TO ANANKOS IN PEACE?!" Garon's voice was audible through the door. "THIS HAD BETTER BE DANGED IMPORTANT!"

Elise put her hands to the sides of her mouth, ensuring her voice carried. "CORRIN WANTS TO APOLOGIZE!"

The girl in question nervously copied her sister's actions. "Uh, YES I WANT TO APOLOGIZE!"

Some muttering was audible, but Corrin and Elise could not make it out. Then suddenly- "GET IN HERE!"

The princesses looked at each other and nodded. They warily opened the doors to the throne room and entered. Corrin looked around in awe and fear, seeing what her father's throne room was like for the first time. Her red eyes observed what resembled thorns growing all along the walls behind Garon. The man himself was sitting lazily in an ebony-hued throne.

Garon frowned deeper, somehow. "Corrin you disobeyed me. If I disobeyed my daddy, he'd beat me! He'd beat me _good_ , tell ya what!" The old man began to stroke his beard in contemplation. "But I ain't a hollerin' fool like that old man, so I'll let you off this once. But to make up for it, yer goin' on a mission for me!"

Corrin gasped. "Yay!"

" **Quiet, girl!** As I was sayin', a mission… So pay attention, 'cause I won't be repeatin' myself!" Garon spat into a spittoon nearby, as if to hammer in the point that he was inexplicably a hick. He missed completely. "There's an old fortress by the Hoshidan border, near the Bottomless Canyon. I wanna know if we can use it, so go check it out for me!"

Corrin nodded excitedly. "Uh-huh! As you wish, Father!"

"Good… good… Now y'all won't have to battle, ya just gotta go look at the fort and report back. And if you fail me… I have no daughter. You hearin' me?" The king glared at his daughter. "I don't tolerate sissies, and I definitely don't tolerate _incompetent_ sissies!"

* * *

Later, all of Corrin's other siblings had joined her and Elise in the throne room, with Garon nowhere to be found. Camilla crossed her arms and shuddered.

"I don't like the sound of this at all. My precious Corrin shouldn't be going to the Bottomless Canyon all by herself. I'll go with you. No need to thank me!" The eldest princess put up a smile and began pinching Corrin's cheek.

"Ow."

"D'aaw, it'll be so cute, I get to be with you on your first mission!"

Out of nowhere, a man in dark clothing stepped out from behind Garon's throne. He had ivory skin and long, jet black hair. The most striking feature was that he only wore half a mask. "That will not be possible, mmmmmmmilady."

Corrin's siblings all groaned, not even bothering to hide their feelings. Leo cleared his throat afterward. "Iago, to what do we owe your presence?" Under his breath, he added " _And how can we punish them?_ "

Iago flashed a smarmy smile. "You see, His Mmmmmmajesty intends this mmmmmmmission as a test. I am to see to it that there are no mmmmmistakes in the planning."

Corrin tilted her head. "Why do you stretch out your Ms?"

"Whatever do you mmmmmean?"

"Oh…"

Iago turned to face Camilla. "Now, seeing as this is a test for Princess Corrin, it would be pointless if you were there to coddle her. Like you always do. Does it sting to know you cannot baby her this time?" he taunted, unprovoked.

"Hmph. I'll give you more than a sting if you speak to me again," Camilla spat.

"Could y'all keep it down, I'm tryin' ta nap!" shouted King Garon, walking out from behind the throne. Xander nearly flinched.

"Oh! Father! We didn't know you were here."

"I never left! I told Corrin 'bout her mission and then went ta take a nap, then she goes and invites all y'all in here!"

Elise scratched her head. "So does that mean Iago was here the whole time? Ewwww!"

Iago frowned and faced King Garon. "Your Mmmajesty, she's being mmmmean to me!"

"Who cares? Now I'd like to introduce everybody to Hans. HANS, GET OUT HERE!" Garon yelled. Another man stepped out from behind the throne. Leo closed his eyes.

"Just how many people are hiding behind there?"

A female knight with a messy hair bun and green eyes slinked out from behind the throne, carrying a bag and a boxing glove. Elise tensed and shook her head, causing the knight to go back into hiding.

"ME AM HANS!" announced Garon's associate. He was a bald man with a beard, and dressed in very little, as though he were a literal barbarian. Corrin thought he looked vaguely familiar, but dismissed it as déjà vu. "ME LIKE KILLING!"

Xander palmed his face and took Corrin aside, by the shoulders. "Wah!"

"Corrin, listen to me. Hans is bad news. He has _literally_ no redeeming qualities. Not a one. We've tried," Xander warned. "If Father orders the two of you to spend any time together, keep your guard up."

"Oh? Well, maybe he just needs to find a friend." Corrin suggested. "Once we get a conversation going, we can find something we have in common and-"

Xander's grip on Corrin's shoulders tightened. "Corrin listen to me. He has committed every crime in the book. Literally every crime. He's committed so many crimes, that they had to invent a new one just to describe what he was doing!"

"What was it called?" Corrin asked, a slight frown forming.

"Unlicensed Embezzle-Clogging."

"… What?"

Garon cleared his throat. "If my children are done with their little conspiracy, I'd like ta continue! Anyway, this here is Hans. He'll go with ya. So have fun with that."

"HANS KILL PEOPLE FOR CORRIN!" Hans announced. "OR FOR FUN!"

Corrin nervously held out her hand, to the apprehension of Xander and the other siblings. "N-nice to meet you, Hans. I look forward to your… assistance."

"CAN WE GO YET? HANS WANT TO KILL PEOPLE AND RAID FORTRESS!"

"Uhh, we were just gonna investigate!" Corrin blurted out. "Uh, maybe if we come across an angry bear or something you could kill it?"

Hans narrowed his eyes.

* * *

Before long, a small team of horse riders were traveling through the Nohrian countryside. Corrin, Gunter, Jakob and Hans were all riding horses to the Bottomless Canyon. They were in a formation where Hans was in the lead, with Corrin behind him, and Gunter and Jakob spread behind her.

"HANS BORED! HANS WANT EAT!"

"Quiet down, Hans, or I'll feed you your own axe!" Gunter shouted. "Your constant bellowing is giving me a headache!"

The warrior turned back to face Gunter with bared teeth. "HANS NOT AFRAID OF OLD MAN!"

Corrin frowned. "Gunter, Hans, please don't fight. This is just going to be a scouting mission, no fighting! Not even with each other!"

Jakob narrowed his eyes and looked at Corrin. She was barefoot again. "Lady Corrin, why are you not still wearing Lord Leo's spare boots?"

The princess slouched her head awkwardly and looked around. "Uhh… they were… the wrong size. Yeah, that's it."

Jakob sighed and Gunter looked over to him. "Jakob have you not learned that this is a futile matter by now? Lady Corrin will marry and meet her own child barefoot, if she can help it."

Corrin turned back to Gunter. "I can still hear you. And why would I meet _and_ marry my own child?"

"N-no milady, see you misunderstood the syntax. I was saying-"

"HANS BORED!"

Jakob and Gunter groaned, and the princess turned to Hans himself. "Hans, how about we play a game?"

"NO! HANS WANT KILL SOMEONE AND TAKE SOMETHING!"

Then Corrin groaned.

* * *

The team could not reach the Bottomless Canyon quick enough. Finding a safe distance to leave their horses, apart from Gunter insisting that he keep his, everyone made it to a bridge over the canyon.

"WE AT BOTTOMLESS CANYON NOW," declared Hans.

"Wooooow," Corrin whispered, taking in the view. "It's so… dark down there. Is it really bottomless?"

Gunter nodded. "Those who fall in never return."

The knight was then met with a glare from Jakob. "That would apply to _any_ canyon, old man."

"Oh dear…" Gunter shook his head and pointed to the southeast, ignoring Jakob entirely. It appeared some soldiers with katana were on patrol. "There are Hoshidans inhabiting that outpost. I should have known Garon was lying about there being no need to fight."

Corrin shook her head. "I don't think so, Gunter. Actually, I think we just finished our job! We came to see if we could use the fort, and we can't. Well... we _could_ , but we'd have to beat those soldiers-"

"MUST KILL!" Hans immediately pulled out a giant axe and ran across the bridge, swinging it in the air. "HUHUHUHUH! KILL!"

"HANS COME BACK!" Corrin yelled.

"ME MAKE FORT GOOD FOR GARON! WE NO TURN BACK AFTER SHOWING UP! AND ME WANT KILL!"

Across the bridge, a ninja dropped down. "In the name of Hoshido, wha-AAAAA!" The ninja was very nearly bisected by the axe before Hans kicked his body over a cliff and into the abyss. The brute turned back to Corrin and the rest.

"IT SAFE! YOU CAN CROSS!"

Another ninja appeared behind Hans. "Nohrians! I must report!" He immediately disappeared, causing Hans' companions to groan in unison.

Jakob readied a dagger. "Well Lady Corrin, it appears we must fight after all."

Corrin unsheathed Ganglari and stared at it. "I… I haven't killed anyone before…"

Gunter closed his eyes. A part of him wanted to keep Corrin away from this, but he knew it could not last. "Milady, if you truly wish to fight for Nohr alongside your siblings, you had to have known that this day would come."

She shuddered and nodded. "Y-you're right… Okay. I can do this… For Nohr!"

"We await your command," Jakob said with a bow. Corrin took a moment to think.

"Let's… see if we can find another way to reach the fortress. I don't trust Hans not to accidentally hit any of us."

"I agree," Gunter stated.

* * *

"HAHAHAHA! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Hans was skipping across another bridge, happily chopping any ninja or bowman that stood in his way. He finally made it to a small fort across the bridge and kicked at the door. "LET HANS IN! HANS WANT KILL!"

A samurai in the fortress frowned. The archer standing beside him seemed lost. "Commander, what shall we do?"

"… Samurai proposes we fight him! Samurai is ready!"

"Sir, why are you talking like that?"

"Like what?"

"You're talking in the third person."

The samurai scoffed. "Samurai has no idea what you mean!"

The archer hung his head. "I don't get paid enough for this."

The door opened and Hans barged in, swinging his axe. "HANS KILL!"

"SAMURAI DEFEND!"

The two locked weapons, each struggling for advantage. Seeing a chance, the archer readied his weapon to aim at Hans, but found that he could only somehow create a green aura around the Samurai.

"Yes… Good! The Defense Stance gives Samurai extra power!" He suddenly pushed against Hans' weapon, making the berserker grunt in shock. The archer tried to shoot again, but found himself repeating what he had just done. "Yes! More defense!"

"… I really don't get paid enough for this."

"NOW IT IS TIME FOR ASTRA!" called the samurai. He jumped back, causing Hans' axe to drop into the ground. The swordsman ran back over to Hans and struck him five times.

"OUCH!" Hans fell backward. "HANS GO HOME NOW…"

The berserker pathetically crawled out of the fortress as the samurai heroically sheathed his sword. "All is well thanks to Samurai and Archer!"

"… Yeah okay."

* * *

Some other samurai were focused on Jakob. Corrin bit her tongue and ran over to one of them, slashing him with Ganglari. With the other soldier caught off-guard, Jakob hit him with his dagger, causing him to wobble and fall over the edge.

"How humiliating to have to be saved by my liege. I shall have to defeat two more to compensate," Jakob lamented. Corrin gave him an incredulous look.

"Kill soldiers just for the sake of it? Are you turning into Hans now?!"

Gunter rode up to the two. "Hans has fallen. We may be able to retreat if we're-" The sound of neighing filled the air. Corrin, Jakob and Gunter looked and saw Pegasi soaring in from where they themselves had entered. "Or we could get trapped between the enemy and their reinforcements. Perfect."

Corrin nervously looked over to the fort to the southeast. "Well, we're almost at the fort. Maybe if we can incapacitate their commander… and use him as a hostage, maybe we can leave?"

"Oooh, how underhanded!" Jakob clapped his hands. "Unfortunately, Hoshidan ninja are too proud. He's likely to have explosives tied to his body, and may detonate as a last resort."

Corrin's jaw dropped. "Seriously?! O-Okay… How about we just try to talk to him? We weren't even meant to fight, so maybe he'll- No I can't even finish that sentence."

"Milady," Gunter warned, "the Sky Knights are approaching as we speak. Our best bet is to take cover in the fortress. By any means necessary."

Corrin sighed and nodded. "Yeah okay." She looked around and saw a patch of land emanating a yellow glow. "Hey a Dragon's Vein! I bet that'll help!" Without another word, Corrin ran over and knelt down, feeling the ground with her hand. "Dragon's Vein _activate!_ "

Nothing happened.

"Uh… please?" Corrin tried putting both hands on the ground. "Oh, I've done this before, I can't mess it up now!" She took a deep breath. " _I INVOKE THEE, DRAGON'S VEIN!_ "

Corrin resonated with the land, and a piece of earth from across the gap extended itself. The princess and her allies finally had a shortcut to the fortress. She smiled and clapped her hands. "Yay I did it! Let's go!"

The three of them ran across the bridge, with Jakob staying back to throw daggers. Each dagger struck a Sky Knight from afar, grounding them. However, Jakob eventually missed one. A dog reared its head from a nearby bush and laughed.

"Oh quit your laughing, mongrel! I'm trying my best!"

* * *

Without the butler, Corrin and Gunter found themselves before a ninja at the gates of the fortress. The ninja took on a fighting stance much like Kaze did back in Castle Krakenburg.

"Nohrians! I shall defeat you! Or my name is not Omozu!"

"We don't care about your name," Gunter countered. "And for what it's worth, this whole fight was Hans' idea."

"I don't know who that is."

"I envy you, then." Gunter twirled his lance. "Let's get this over with."

Omozu vanished in smoke, and then reappeared behind Gunter and standing on the horse. Corrin's eyes widened.

"GUNTER!"

Gunter saw in his peripheral vision and leapt off his horse in time. Omozu swung his shuriken like a knife and missed. "Fie! I missed!"

Omozu did a backflip off Gunter's horse, just in time to get kicked by its hind legs. He got sent flying into a tree, and broke it in half. "Oooooh…. okay you win…. ow…"

Corrin went over to a flagpole by the fortress and took down the Hoshidan flag, replacing it with a Nohrian flag. She then walked into the fortress.

**_WORLD 1-3 CLEAR_ **

****_Time Remaining: 444 Seconds  
_ ****_*1-Up!  
_ ****_*1-Up!  
_ **_*1-Up!  
_ ** ****_*1-Up!_

Immediately, a red-clad ninja with a small metal guard over his mouth appeared from nowhere. He had a scar covering his shut right eye. Corrin ran back out of the fortress and gasped. "Another ninja! Quick, Gunter's Horse, do what you did to the other guy!"

"You'd better not be telling me Omozu's group was defeated by a horse," the ninja dryly commented. "Oh well. He was weak anyway. My name is Saizo. And by order of Lord Ryoma…" his right eye opened, revealing it to be pure white, "... _die._ "

Corrin quickly readied Ganglari, as Gunter got back onto his horse. Saizo crouched and made a beeline for Corrin. He ran so fast, it was as though he flickered in and out of existence as he approached.

"Begone, wretch!" a familiar voice ordered. At just the right time, a crimson beam struck Saizo and knocked him on his face. Corrin and Gunter looked over to find Xander riding in on Sieghorse, followed by his other siblings. "Corrin, Gunter! We're here!"

"Xander! Camilla! Elise! Leo!" Corrin waved happily at them all. Leo frowned.

"Why did she name me last?"

Saizo struggled to get back up and spoke to no one in particular. "Don't just stand there!"

Two ninja materialized in a space between Corrin and her siblings. Camilla swung her wyvern's reins and it flew faster. Pulling out her axe, she hit both ninja in one flyby swoop.

**_DOUBLE-KILL!_ **

Corrin went pale. "Oh wow, Camilla is scary when she fights."

Then another ninja arrived. This one was a woman with long, black hair covering her right eye. "Yeah well Lord Ryoma is much more frightening."

Corrin turned. "Who…"

By that time, Xander and the others had reached Corrin. The eldest prince turned to Corrin. "Get out of here. We will handle this while you, Gunter and the butler leave!"

"The butler?" asked Camilla. "Xander, Jakob's worked for Corrin for years and you still don't know his name?"

Xander raised his eyebrow. "So that one was Jakob? I thought Jakob was Gunter's horse."

All the Nohrians present groaned, but Gunter extended his hand. Corrin hesitantly joined the knight on his horse. She was about to ask her siblings if they were truly okay with this, but the eldest three had already begun to engage the two ninja.

"Oh they'll be fine! This happens a lot!" Elise waved her hand reassuringly. "I think. I just kind of snuck along with them until they noticed me."

"Well… if you insist." Corrin said.

* * *

Gunter's horse quickly ran across the bridge, carrying both its master and Princess Corrin. She was looking behind them nervously. "Gunter, I still don't see Jakob behind us! Are you sure we can't turn back and look for him? What if he died?!"

"Oh please, he's too stubborn to-"

"DIE!"

At the end of a bridge, Hans ran out from behind a tree and jumped. Axe out, he swung at Gunter's horse, causing it to rear up in fright. Corrin fell off the horse and onto the planks. "Aaaah!"

"Corrin! Hans, what are you doing?!"

Grinning, Hans quickly took a swing at the horse, and as it flailed in pain, it fell over the edge, taking Gunter with it. Corrin shrieked.

" _GUNTER, NOOOOO!_ "

"HAHAHAHA! GUNTER DIE! HANS KILL CORRIN NOW!"

But Corrin did not register Hans' remark. She could not hear, she could not see, she could not even feel. All that remained was a muffled roar in her head that was quickly getting louder. Her breathing became faster, and more feral.

"You… you…"

Hans yawned. "HANS HAVE NO TIME FOR THIS. HOLD STILL SO HANS FINISH." He casually walked over and readied his axe.

Corrin writhed and cradled her head. Suddenly, she let out a roar. " _RRRAAAAAAH!_ "

Her head had transformed; it was entirely inhuman, a strange monster's head. Her hands were changed as well- one was a lance and the other a giant mouth.

"UHHH, HANS FEEL WEIRD ABOUT THIS NOW." Corrin's hand-mouth clamped around Hans, fangs digging into him. "OW, NO BITING!"

" **Why did you do it?! ANSWER ME!** "

"DUUUUH, KING GARON SAID TO. LET HANS GO NOW!" Hesitating, Corrin let go of Hans, but then ran up to him and jabbed him with the lance. "OOOH! GARON NO SAY YOU WERE MUTANT!" Corrin followed up by aiming her mouth-like appendage like a cannon. A blast of water came out, knocking Hans back to the cliff.

"OW. AT LEAST HANS GET SHOWER FOR MONTH."

With a flash of light, Corrin returned to normal, yet was dazed. "My head… I don't…" Ganglari then forced itself into her hand. It glowed an unhealthy purple, and then lifted Corrin into the air. "Whoa! I'm awake now, what's going on?!" Ganglari flew into the chasm, taking Corrin with it. "Aaaah!"

Corrin was gone, Ganglari with her. Hans sat in silence for a moment.

"I'm coming, Corrin!" cried Lilith, making an unexpected appearance at the canyon. She ran past Hans and dived into the abyss. Hans continued to sit there.

"… ME AM CONFUSED."

* * *

When Corrin regained consciousness, she was in a wide, open field. "… Huh? Is this the bottom of the canyon?" She gasped. "Gunter! I have to find him!"

"Lady Corrin!"

Corrin looked behind her and saw a small, fishlike creature. It was primarily blue and white, but with some red spots. It had familiar yellow eyes and a very familiar kerchief on its head. "Hi, Lady Corrin! It's me, Lilith! I'm a dragon now."

The princess did a double-take. "W-What?!"

"Oh…" The small creature blushed. "I guess I should explain. Do you remember that time you found a sick, baby bird? Well that was actually me, in this form. I was looking for you, and I found you! But I was so sick…"

"You… are a dragon… and you were looking for me?"

The little dragon nodded. "Uh-huh! And to repay your kindness, I decided to become a servant of yours! But I had to take a human form to do it, or else it'd just look weird."

"I… guess?"

"But when I saved you from falling into the canyon and warped you here, I used up too much power. I don't think I can change back now. Sad." Lilith closed her eyes. "But this form isn't so bad, especially not with you, S- … Milady."

Corrin frowned. "Oh… Well, can we go back?"

"Oh… oh alright." Lilith conjured a crystal ball. "I'll stay here for a while, but I can send you back with this. But be careful, you'll still be by the Hoshidan border!"

"Don't worry, Lilith. I'm sure everything will be fine." Corrin gave her friend a smile.

_FLASH_

"Oh…" Corrin woke up on a cliff by the canyon. "What happe- AAH!"

A club had struck Corrin in the back of the head, knocking her unconscious. A flash of lightning revealed Rinkah as the culprit. She picked up Corrin by the waist and hoisted the girl over her shoulder.

"Not so hot now, huh?"

**To be continued.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's Chapter 3. Say hello to Hans, everybody. In the game, he was really nothing but a brute, just there to kill people and make it harder for Corrin to justify King Garon's actions. So since such little thought was put into him in the game, I reflected that in his portrayal here. Iago's portrayal is just a small joke for myself. I always imagined him stretching out his Ms, so there you go.
> 
> The Duck Hunt joke wasn't planned at all, it just came to me as I wrote the scene. And now it's one of my favorite jokes in this whole story so far. And it even helped justify keeping Jakob missing from the bridge confrontation with Hans. We also get to meet Saizo and Kagero in this chapter, but not much was accomplished. We'll see more of them later. (I didn't actually recognize them in this chapter until I replayed the game from the beginning.)
> 
> We end with Lilith revealing her dragon form and MyCastle to Corrin. To be honest, I don't think I will be incorporating MyCastle beyond this scene, because I can't find a way to have it make sense. I know it's a humor story, but my suspension of disbelief and tendency to focus on the details can only go so far. We'll see, though.
> 
> Next chapter, we finally meet more Hoshidans.


	4. Kaze Dies at the End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corrin goes to Hoshido and meets a crazy cat lady and talking lobster.

Corrin catapulted awake. "AAH, DAD, HANS, KILLING, NINJA, GUNTER, LILITH!"

Catching her breath, Corrin realized she was in an unfamiliar location. She slowly looked around and saw that she was in some small house, near a fire. Her only company was the proud Fire Tribe warrior, Rinkah. The Oni Savage smirked.

"The fire in your eyes has returned." Corrin blinked, and stared at Rinkah for a few seconds, a little nervously.

"…I think I remember you! You're the Fire Tribe warrior! Where are we?"

"Out of the frying pan, into the fire!"

The princess frowned. "Is that… just an idiom, or am I really in trouble?"

"You think I'm roasting ya?"

Corrin sighed.

* * *

The next morning, Rinkah was leading Corrin through some light snow, with Corrin grimacing the whole way.

"Cold, cold, cold, cold, cold, cold…!"

Kaze dropped from a tree branch to meet the two. "Lady… Corrin. It is good to see you again. I trust Rinkah has explained the situation?"

"N-No, not r-reall-ly," Corrin answered, shivering. "Sh-She just kept m-making fire jokes. M-My f-feet are f-freezing!"

Kaze looked and saw Corrin was not wearing shoes. He nodded and vanished in a cloud of smoke. He reappeared behind Corrin.

"I'm back."

"AAH!"

Kaze presented Corrin with some wooden sandals. "These are not suited for battle, but should at least help. It is unfortunate you lost your boots at the canyon."

Corrin awkwardly accepted the gift. "Heheh… yeah… at the canyon… definitely didn't leave them at the castle on purpose…" As she put on the sandals, Corrin tried to change the subject. "Where are we going?"

"Well," Kaze started, "Rinkah and I are taking you to the Hoshidan capital. There, you will meet the queen."

All the color drained from Corrin's face. "Oh… oh no… She's going to be mad about the unprovoked attack at the canyon!" Before Kaze could say anything, Corrin turned away from him and held her head in her arms. "Oh no, oh no! And I can't just blame it all on Hans, I fought some soldiers too! Unless… Well, she wasn't there, maybe she'd believe it? No, that angry ninja with the scar still saw me, and his lady friend…"

"Angry? With a scar?" Kaze asked. Then he shook his head. "Never mind. Lady... Corrin, I believe you have nothing to fear."

Corrin finally faced Kaze again. "How do you know? And why do you call me 'lady'? I am one, but not to your people."

"Oh we'll see about that…" Kaze thought aloud.

"Hm?"

"I said that we're wasting time. Let's go."

* * *

A day and a half of uneventful walking led Corrin, Kaze and Rinkah to Castle Shirasagi, the royal stronghold of the crown family of Hoshido. The only acknowledgement from the guards were a brief nod they gave Kaze, which the ninja returned. Observing this, Corrin felt safe. The trio walked past the courtyard of cherry blossom trees, through the foyer, and into the throne room. Corrin was taking in the sights, in awe the whole time.

"Wooow. This place is cool! It almost makes me forget how uncomfortable these sandals are!"

Then the travelers finally made it to the throne room, greeted by a man in red armor and a white coat. He had incredibly long, dark hair. This man was smiling. "Kaze, it is good to see you again."

 _He looks familiar… Kind of like Hans did. Hmm, I wonder what that dream is trying to tell me…_ Corrin did not hear what Kaze and the man, and even Rinkah were talking about to each other. She was lost in thoughts until she had finally noticed that the other three in the room were all watching her, not speaking anymore. "Uhh… uhh… Hi?"

The man folded his arms and nodded. Corrin tried to hide her face, and then the man spoke to her directly. "Do you know who I am?"

"Uhhh…" Corrin took a look at the man. Nothing about him seemed any different from when she had first seen him a moment ago. "You're… the executioner? Please don't execute me!" She fell to her knees, pleading to the man. "It was all Hans' fault! I-I mean I _am_ a Nohrian royal, working for my father, but we weren't supposed to get into a fight, and now Gunter is dead and Jakob is missing and Lilith is a dragon and I just want to go ho-o-ooome!" she nearly sobbed.

"Whoa! No, I'm just the prince!" the armored one put up his hands. "Prince Ryoma!"

"You mean in Hoshido, the prince does the executions just like in Nohr?!" Corrin asked, still fearing for her life.

"NOBODY EXECUTE MY BABY!"

Everyone looked over and saw a woman in a white gown. She was powerwalking into the room, long ebony ponytail flapping behind her. The woman also held a cat under her arm. Ryoma decided to speak. "No Mother, nobody's executing, it was all a misunderstanding!"

Corrin gasped. "So you believe me about Hans?"

"I don't know who that is," answered Ryoma. "But that's not why this a misunderstanding. You see-"

The newcomer was right next to Corrin then, and hugged her tight. "My daughter! My precious daughter, you've come back to me! Oh how I've missed you! Naming a cat after you and treating it as if she were my child just isn't the same! Oh how I've missed you, Kamui!"

"MEOW!"

"Not now, Kamui!" the lady hissed. "I'm talking to Real Kamui! Oh how I've missed you!" she started crying into Corrin's shoulder. Corrin looked around awkwardly, not returning the hug. Her gaze went to Ryoma, who nodded, then back ahead of her.

"Um… What… What is going on?"

"Kamui it's me, your mother!" the affectionate woman clarified. "Your mother, Mikoto!"

Corrin did not feel better. "Uhh, I think you have me confused for someone else."

Mikoto immediately broke her hug and examined Corrin. "Hmm… White hair, red eyes, pointed ears-"

"Hey I'm sensitive about those! Wait, now what are you doi- Aaah! Khtah hih!" ( _Aaah!_ _Stop it!_ )

She held Corrin's mouth open and looked at the girl's teeth. "You even have itty bitty fangs! That settles it, you're my precious Kamui!"

"MEOW!"

Mikoto turned back to the cat. "No, not you!"

Hugged again by the bizarre woman, Corrin began to look around. Ryoma and Kaze were smiling. Rinkah was looking at the cat as though it were edible. Corrin was alone in this. _Oh no, I'm being hugged by a crazy cat lady. Hugs are nice, but aren't I in enemy territory? And why does she keep calling me 'Caw-mooey'? Do I really look like her daughter? And why do I get the feeling that cat hates me?_

The older woman stopped hugging. "I… see you're not returning my embrace. Do you not remember me? I suppose you were rather young…" Corrin slowly nodded, so Mikoto cleared her throat. "Ahem… I am Queen Mikoto of Hoshido. You are my daughter, Kamui. Sixteen years ago, your father was killed and you were taken away from us to Nohr." The queen put her hands on her alleged daughter's shoulders. "But now you're back!"

"MEOW!"

"Oh and I adopted a cat and named it after you. But I already said that part."

"But… I'm Corrin." She gave a sympathetic smile. "You got the first consonant right, at least!"

"But she's right, you're her daughter. And I am your brother, Ryoma," explained the large man. "You and our father, King Sumeragi, went to the Nohrian city of Cheve to meet King Garon for a peace conference. But…" Ryoma looked away. "Our father was slain in cold blood, and you were the prisoner."

"I… don't believe you." The princess frowned. "But… I can kind of remember something. I've never left the Northern Fortress, but I remember a different place. And… someone falling down."

"MEOW!"

"Quiet Kamui, Kamui is trying to talk to us!" Mikoto scolded. The cat's namesake was about to speak again, when a samurai barged in.

"IT IS I, SAMURAI. FROM BOTTOMLESS CANYON."

Ryoma's eyebrows raised. "Ah, Samurai my favorite samurai. Where are Hinoka and Sakura already?"

"Princess and Princess are in a northern village evacuating the townspeople. It was attacked! They told Samurai to report to you! Samurai thought he could help them, but they said no!"

Ryoma turned to Corrin. "How about you come with me and see for yourself? Maybe seeing your sisters will remind you." Then the larger man turned to Kaze and Rinkah. "And you two?"

"Yeah okay."

"Flame on!"

Corrin gave Ryoma a weak smile. "Well… as long as I'm not getting executed…"

* * *

A red-haired woman in a red and white dress was flying on a Pegasus through some snow. She turned back. "Get the lead out, Sakura! Come on!"

A younger girl, a shrine maiden with pinkish hair was following slowly. "I-I'm trying Sister, but I sprained my ankle! Sorry!"

Hinoka sighed. "Great. Where's Azama when you finally, _finally_ need him?" A large, muscular humanoid stomped over a nearby hill. It was wearing shackles and a metal mask, and it had a sickly green skin tone. The Sky Knight sighed again. "Just perfect…"

"URGH!" the beast moaned.

* * *

Further over the hills, Corrin, Ryoma, Kaze and Rinkah had shown up with Samurai the samurai.

"Samurai, go help clear that village. The rest of us will look for mine and Kamui's sisters."

Corrin frowned. "I'm not going to suddenly believe you just because you keep calling me that!"

"Samurai will go!" he declared. As the Samurai left, everyone else began making their way across the hills. Corrin spoke up again.

"Ah! I keep almost tripping. These sandals are coming off!"

"You're risking frostbite as it is. Stop being so childish," warned Kaze.

"Fine… Hey, Ryoma- er, Lord Ryoma, er… Ryoma? Whatever, how do you know which direction to go? There are so many hills!"

The large samurai kept his gaze on the task ahead of him, forcing Corrin to do the same. "Kamui, do you see all these beasts? They're all converging on one location. And since these beasts- the Faceless- fight for Nohr, I would not put it past them to target two princesses of Hoshido."

"Like a moth to a flame!" Rinkah said. Kaze rolled his eyes.

"They fight for Nohr? I've never seen them!" As the one she trusted most, Corrin turned to Kaze. "Is it true?"

The ninja nodded. "Queen Mikoto put up a convenient barrier that saps invaders of their will to fight. But since the Faceless don't have any will, Nohrian mages use them to infiltrate and destroy."

At this, Corrin had to stop and think. "Wait, a magical barrier that drains invaders of their will to fight? How does that work? Do even nonviolent guests find themselves incapable of fighting? Are they aware of it? What about friendly fights, like sparring? How does the barrier know who's who? Does it work on animals? How does the queen keep it going? I have several questions!"

But Ryoma and the others had already ran ahead. Corrin sighed and proceeded to tail them.

* * *

With Ryoma slaying Faceless from a distance with lightning, he was able to efficiently lead the troop through the woods. The team kept running, when Ryoma suddenly skidded to a stop. Corrin kept running and ran into Ryoma, falling onto her bum. "Ow! What's wrong, did you forget something?"

"Dragon's Vein," Ryoma answered. Right ahead of him was a glowing spot in the ground. Without a word, he ran over and plunged his electrified sword into the ground. " _DRAGON'S VEIN, MELT THE SNOW!_ " cried Ryoma.

On command, the air began to get much hotter, and the snowy hills collapsed into steaming puddles. Kaze crossed his arms. "Must you shout so loudly every time you use a Dragon's Vein?"

"No. But even I need to have fun sometimes," explained the red-armored man. He cracked a smile. "Anyway, we can get through much quicker now. Let's go!"

* * *

On their own, Hinoka and Sakura have found a rhythm in fending off Faceless. It would start with Hinoka attacking.

"Take this!"

"RRRRAGH!"

"Ow!"

"Festal, heal her!"

"Thanks! Take this!"

"RRRRRAGH!"

"Ow!"

"Festal, heal her!"

This went on for about five minutes, before the Faceless was struck with lightning and slain. Hinoka frowned. "Aww! Kill-stealing, no fair!"

Ryoma ran up to his sisters, not even out of breath while the other three were a little more winded. "Hinoka, Sakura, it's good to know I'm on ti-"

"RRAAAAAH!" another Faceless roared.

Everyone then noticed that an entire squad of Faceless were still headed their way. Ryoma glared. "All right, talking later. Hinoka and I will take the ones on the left. The rest of you go for the ones on the right. Sakura… just stay outside of enemy range. Aaaand GO!"

Everyone ran to take on the Faceless. Corrin and Kaze took on a particularly nasty one, swinging its fists all over the place. Kaze stood in front of it, mindlessly throwing shurikens over and over.

"Kaze, move!"

"I'm weakening him. Just a few more ought to- Oh no." Kaze was punched in the gut and sent flying by the Faceless. "Wuuuuuaaaah!"

"KAZE!" Corrin cried out. She turned back to the Faceless and found herself next in line. Thinking fast, she jumped out of the way, but swung Ganglari at the same time. "Ha! I dodged and attacked at the same time!"

The Faceless ignored its slashed right arm and swept with it, hitting Corrin.

"Oof! You mean you didn't feel that?!"

Sakura called over to Corrin from her safe distance. "They're brainless! Th-they're monsters that can only attack! They don't feel pain!"

"Huh…" Then Corrin noticed the Faceless was about to attack again. She rolled out of the way, got back up, and swung Ganglari again. "HAAAAAA!"

"RRAAAAAA!"

The Faceless' right arm was severed, and Corrin proceeded to hack away at the rest of the monster.

"YOU'RE TOAST!" Rinkah ran up with a jump-smash, her club lit aflame. The beast's head was burning now.

"RRRRRRR!"

Corrin finished with a stab through the back, and the monster fell over, before disintegrating into purple fumes. "Phew… That guy was tough!"

Sakura ran up to Corrin as fast as one with a sprained ankle could. She then waved her festal in the swordfighter's general direction. "H-here, I'll heal you."

"Hey, thanks!"

* * *

"See your death, see your death, see your death…" Ryoma mumbled as he systematically destroyed the Faceless with lightning bolts.

Hinoka was finishing off a Faceless of her own, with a naginata. "You know… Sometimes I wish I had a special weapon like yours." Done with the Faceless, she turned her head back in Ryoma's direction. "Speaking of special weapons, that new recruit of yours has a pretty crazy sword! Who is she, anyway?"

Ryoma then killed the last Faceless. "Oh, her? She's Kamui."

Hinoka stopped dead in her tracks. She dropped her naginata and everything. "… What?!"

"Oh, uh, I probably shouldn't have said that so casually. But yes, it's truly he-"

Hinoka had already hopped off her horse and dashed past Ryoma. "KAMUI, I'M COMING!"

* * *

Sakura was talking to Corrin, Rinkah and a recovered Kaze. "O-oh you shouldn't be thanking me. You're the ones who saved me, i-it was the least I could do…"

"It's just a shame that Kaze had to die before we could save you…" Corrin stated, hanging her head. "He was a good man."

The ninja raised his eyebrow. "What are you talking about? I'm right here."

Rinkah sighed. "His flame went out too early."

"Guys, I'm standing right next to you." He picked up some snow and threw it. "Look, I even interacted with the environment, so you know I'm not a ghost."

Corrin gave Rinkah a sad smile. "You know, I can still hear his voice."

"Because I'm _talking to you!_ "

Then out of nowhere, Hinoka stampeded up to Corrin and gave her a tight hug, lifting her in the air. "OhgodsKamuiIcan'tbelieveityou'rereallyhereI'vefinallyfoundyouaftersolong!"

"Uh?"

Ryoma strolled up, a big smile on his face. "Hahahaha! It seems you've been reacquainted with Hinoka, sister."

Sakura turned to Ryoma. "What do you mean? Of course I know Hinoka."

"Not you. Our _other_ sister."

"You mean-!" Sakura gasped. Ryoma nodded his head.

"Can you… please put me down?" Corrin asked Hinoka.

"Never! I won't let you go ever again, Kamui! I'm so sorry I couldn't save you! I even became a Sky Knight so I could find a way to get you back! And now you're here! I won't ever fail you again!"

Corrin moaned a little. _I really don't think two people would fake this much joy at the mere sight of me. But that doesn't mean I remember her as my sister, or Mikoto as my mother. Is there a way I can tell her without making her sad? Or without her using this chance to crush my spine?"_

Ryoma broke the silence instead. "It was a good thing Kaze and Rinkah found you."

Hinoka frowned. "What? Rinkah, I wanted to do that! Oh well… At least Kaze can rest easy in the afterlife, knowing he reunited our family."

Kaze pinched the bridge of his nose.

* * *

**_Tonight on MTV Cribs: Hoshido Edition!_ **

Corrin and Mikoto were back at the castle that evening, standing in a small room. There was a little cot in the center, while toys and sketches were scattered about. Mikoto was positively beaming. "This is your old bedroom! We didn't touch it at all since you were kidnapped."

"That explains the- the- ACHOO! … The dust."

"Do you remember now, Kamui?"

"MEOW!"

Mikoto and Corrin looked and saw the cat in the doorway. They stared awkwardly at the cat for about five seconds, before the cat lied down on its side. Corrin cleared her throat.

"Uh… No. I mean, I'm starting to think I could be, but I can't argue with my lack of memories. I think."

Mikoto smiled, but truly felt pained. "I wish you did remember, but I can't force it. Well, you can still stay here. Go take a walk around the castle if you'd like!"

Corrin nodded. "Okay. Is there a lot of gravel or any sharp sticks or anything?"

"No, why?" Mikoto asked, before Corrin automatically stepped out of her sandals and walked out of the room. Somewhere else, Jakob began to have an aneurism. But that was another story.

* * *

Taking Mikoto up on her offer, Corrin stood by a small grove. She was minding her own business, until suddenly she heard somebody singing. Or rather, Corrin thought it was singing. It was actually… rapping. She decided to head to the source of the voice and caught something peculiar.

A woman with long, blue hair and wearing a white dress was standing on a dock leading into a pond. She appeared oblivious to Corrin's presence.

" _Captain Deadpool-_ nah, just Deadpool. _Merc with the Mouth/I can't die/One foot in the grave, but I'm still alive/Try to kill me, I'll just revive-"_

"Uh-"

That did it, the singer lost her concentration and turned around to face Corrin. "… Oh. Can I help you, or whatever?"

"Oh I was just listening to your… song?"

"Oh. Okay. Good. I guess. I'm Azura."

Corrin tensed up. "Shoot, I should've introduced myself first! I'm-"

"Kamui. The princess that used to live here, but then got taken to Nohr."

This did not help Corrin's tension. "How did you-"

"I know because the same thing happened to me, but in reverse. I was a princess of Nohr before I got counter-kidnapped by Hoshido."

"Are-"

"No I'm not psychic."

Corrin stood still for a moment. Azura smirked, seeming to enjoy staying a step ahead of Corrin. That was, until Corrin cleared her throat. "Ah, well… My name is actually Corrin. Everyone here calls me Caw-mooey though."

Azura nodded. "That's because it was your name when you lived here. I guess they called you something else when they took you away. For some reason." She turned back around. "As for me, like I said, I was counter-kidnapped. They tried to rescue you, but then somehow ended up taking me instead. But I like it better in Hoshido, so it's good."

"Oh…" Corrin looked around nervously. "Okay. … So… I'll just go do my own thi-"

"You can listen to me sing if you want."

"Thanks!"

**To be continued.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we finally meet more of the Hoshidans. And it turns out their queen is a little loopy.
> 
> I've seen other writers do this, the bit where Corrin's kidnappers gave them a different name to help make them forget Hoshido. I thought it was pretty cool, so I went with that as well. To try and preserve that for this chapter, I had no one refer to Corrin by name in her dream sequence during the very first chapter.
> 
> Kaze getting defeated is a reference to my save file. In my Birthright run, not only did he get defeated in this chapter, but he seemed to get defeated the most out of everyone, so that's his thing- everyone keeps thinking he's dead. Not that he's useless or too weak, just that he keeps "dying". Also, why is Rinkah still with everyone? That makes no sense.
> 
> This chapter was also the first time I'd written Azura. I don't hate her, but she's one of my least favorite characters. I'm sort of playing up her dry, blunt side for this story. I've written ahead, and she seems to be getting some good moments in later chapters.


	5. Corrin's First Festival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corrin goes to a Hoshidan festival and has a wonderful time. Until she doesn't.

"Here we are, daughter! My throne!"

A week had passed, and Corrin (Kamui, as everyone else kept calling her) was enjoying her stay in Castle Shirasagi. Ryoma reminded her a lot of Xander, but that was where the similarities ended. In his own words 'I'm much better looking, I bet.' Hinoka was really attached to her, while Sakura seemed as though she _wanted_ to be close, but did not make the effort. Even Azura seemed happy to have her around.

The only one who was not receptive was her other little sibling, Takumi. But Corrin was sure he would come around. At that point, Corrin privately wondered what the odds were that she would have two families- both royalty, both consisting of an older brother, older sister, younger brother, and younger sister. Not to mention how both sets of brothers had legendary weapons.

Corrin pointed this out to Mikoto, and she said 'speaking of legendary, come look at my throne' and practically dragged Corrin by the arm all the way to the throne room. And that was how Corrin found herself in the throne room with Queen Mikoto.

"This is a magical throne! If you sit on it, it will purify you! No more pesky Nohrian brainwashing! Oh and if you're secretly not my daughter and are in disguise, it'll show me that too. But I trust you."

Corrin tilted her head. "Magical… throne? From where?"

Mikoto's eyes shot open. "Uhhh… Let's just say it's from back home."

"As in, here?"

The queen smiled. "No silly, I didn't live in Hoshido _all_ my life! But I'm the queen now, and that's all that matters." She gestured to the throne. "Now please sit on this throne. Like I said, brainwashing. That might be keeping you from remembering us."

Corrin shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

Corrin walked up to the throne and was about to sit down. Mikoto bounced on her heels in anticipation. "Weeeell? Do you remember me yet?"

"I… haven't sat down yet."

"Lady Mikoto?" In walked an older man with glasses and bluish hair. He wore a dark blue uniform. "The ceremony will begin soon."

Mikoto snapped her fingers. "That's right! Thank you, Yukimura." Then Mikoto turned to Corrin. "Kamui, this is Yukimura. He's the strategist of our military. You know, the guy who tips the scales."

"I don't know why everyone says that phrase in particular…" Yukimura lamented. "But greetings, Lady Kamui," he said with a bow.

At that point, Ryoma led all his siblings and Azura into the room. This included Takumi. He had a long, silver ponytail and wore white and light-blue clothes. He groaned. "Aww, why's she here? What, you gonna let _her_ be the new ruler instead of Ryoma?"

Hinoka shoved her elbow in Takumi's side. With a glare, she asked, "Can you not?!"

Corrin ignored her brother's biting question and turned back to Mikoto. "What's going on?"

"Oh, we're celebrating your return and I'll publicly announce that you came back!"

Corrin frowned. "Oh… I see. Look… Mother?" _Still sounds weird._ "I'm starting to think I really am your child, but I really don't know if I should stay here."

" _Pssst! You shouldn't! … Just so you know!_ " Takumi stage-whispered. Corrin ignored him.

"I still have another family back ho- … Back in Nohr. This feels a little fast, especially since I still don't remember you."

Mikoto smiled anyway. "Well that's what the chair is for!" She waved her hand. "Oh, but you can sit in it later. Hinoka, Azura, Takumi and Sakura can guide you around town so you may be more familiar with it. I'll stay here and talk to Yukimura."

"MEOW!"

Mikoto's cat had found its way into this conversation. She picked it up and smiled. "Oh and I can't forget _you_ , Fake Kamui!"

"MEOW!"

Corrin winced. "Er, you can just keep calling her Kamui. I'll stick to Corrin."

* * *

Shirasagi Castle Town's festival was in full swing, and everyone seemed to be having a good time. A guy in a flame-on-black kimono and with spiky blonde hair walked up to a food stall.

"I'm Guy Fujito and if your diner is freaky, I'll find it! You guys have been telling me I _gotta_ try this roasted potato place in Shirasagi Town, _Alm's Potatoes_. So let's head on over and try a bite at Alm's! Where they do food _their_ way!"

The old lady running the stall was confused. "… Who are you talking to, sir?"

" ** _RIGHT HERE!_** " screamed Guy. The woman began to whimper.

Elsewhere, Sakura was shuffling her feet and trying to lead Corrin around.

"H-how are you liking the festival, Sister?"

Corrin smiled. "It's so cool! I've always wanted to go to a festival!"

Azura walked up to the sisters and gave them roasted potatoes. Sakura bowed as thanks, and Corrin nervously copied. Azura began to speak, even though she was chewing her potato. "There was," chew, "a weird person," chew, "at the stall," chew, "yelling," chew, "but I grabbed some," chew, "while he," chew, "wasn't looking," chew.

Bits of potato landed on Sakura. She was ignored by her elders, as Corrin looked around in amazement. "This place is so different from Nohr! It's bright and warm, there's more space, I eat food with sticks, and everyone's nice!"

"Hey, that was my potato you creep, give it back!" Takumi cried. Guy Fujito was eating Takumi's potato and talking with his mouth full.

"Naw here'sh how i'ssh done. Awwwm!" He swallowed. "Aah! Now that's a potato." He gave out a large, extended belch. "Welp, compliments to the chef! That really took me to Flavor Town!"

Corrin was eating her own potato, and had a thought. "Sakura!"

As her sister exclaimed her name, more potato bits hit Sakura.

"… Y-y-yes?"

"I just remembered," more potato debris was landing on Sakura, "there's a girl in Nohr close to your age. We got along well. Her name was E-"

"BOO! NO ONE CARES!" Takumi called. Hinoka walked up and smacked him behind the head. "Ow!"

"C'mon guys, Mother is about to make her announcement."

* * *

Everyone was standing around the statue in the town square, listening to Mikoto talking. Corrin stood behind her. One audience member had a wide hat, and there was a disgruntled man standing behind him.

"Move! I can't see the princess's face! I can't even tell if they're a princess or a prince at this angle!"

As Mikoto was talking, a strange man appeared in the audience. He wore a cloak, and much of his skin was not even visible. With one hand motion, he telekinetically pulled Ganglari from Corrin's sheath.

"Huh?!"

"Hm?" Mikoto seemed less concerned.

The audience member held Ganglari skyward, and an eye opened on the sword. He spoke with a very gravelly voice. "Yep. This is my sword now."

Without warning, he planted the sword in the ground and there was a massive explosion. Shards of the sword were flying everywhere. Mikoto's eyes shut, and she hugged Corrin tightly.

"Mik- Mother?!"

" _Gaaaaah!_ "

Mikoto was shielding Corrin from the debris, and only too late did Corrin's mind finally process what was happening.

When things quieted down, Corrin opened her eyes to find that she was now fully supporting Mikoto's weight. The queen was gasping for air.

"… hey… kamui… or corrin… are you o-okay?" Corrin could not find any words, she only nodded. "oh… good… okay… i think i'm dying… sorry…"

Corrin could feel nothing.

"B-b-but we were… going to be a family…"

Ryoma marched right up to the mysterious figure, pulling out his electrical sword. "YOU FIEND!"

The samurai swung his blade, but the man teleported to another area of the town square. As that was happening, Kaze appeared in a puff of smoke and found Corrin and Mikoto.

"Ooh… I'll just… put her down somewhere for you," he said with a wince. Once Kaze removed Mikoto, Corrin fell to her knees.

"We were… she… I was her… but… and now…" Corrin's breathing became erratic, and she clutched her head in pain. "Not again… not again…"

"Lady Kamui? What-" Kaze was interrupted when Corrin released her head and screamed to the heavens.

" ** _AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!_** "

Kaze shielded his eyes as the wind intensified and the air became moist. But when he regained his vision, he saw that in Corrin's place stood a strange creature. A quadrupedal beast with scales matching Corrin's armor, and antlers atop its faceless head. Sakura slowly walked up to the scene.

"S-sister?"

" ** _RAAAAAA!_** " the dragon that was once Corrin let out a mighty roar.

Corrin then stampeded away, searching for Mikoto's killer.

* * *

Corrin raged through the town, her new tail knocking over what remained of the festival and whichever poor soul happened to be in her way.

"I'm Guy Fujito and we're here in Flavor To- OOF!"

Corrin kept running through town, until some strange warriors appeared before her. They were seemingly invisible, unless seen at the right angle, and they were wreathed in bright purple flames. These invisible soldiers charged at Corrin, but she kept going and stomped on all of them. She began to stomp on them repeatedly, until she got tired and collapsed.

_"Weeeell, he ain't my boy but the brother is heavy-"_

Azura's familiar song resonated with Corrin, and the dragon stood back up. She roared, and then ran off. Azura walked out from behind a ruined stall and watched the dragon leave. "Hmm. I wonder if I should warn her of the Wyrmslayers. … Nah, she'll be fine."

* * *

"PLEASE MOVE, KAZE!" Sakura cried. She was furiously waving her festal in the air over Mikoto's corpse, but Kaze shook his head.

"Milady, I-"

"J-JUST LET ME TRY!"

"Oh dear…" Kaze inhaled through his teeth. Suddenly, Rinkah ran over to him.

"Things are heating up!"

Kaze turned over. "Rinkah, you're still here? Don't you have anything else to do? Oh never mind. Look, just watch Lady Sakura while I go support Lady Kamui, okay? Okay."

Kaze threw down a smoke bomb and vanished, forcing Sakura and Rinkah into coughing fits. When the smoke cleared, Hinoka and Takumi were approaching, themselves coughing. Then, Hinoka's heart sank when she finally saw Sakura futilely trying to heal their mother.

"Mother…"

* * *

Ryoma and the mysterious killer were having a swordfight. Their swords were locked. "You… killed her! …Who are… you?!"

"Oh. I see how it is. You don't even remember? What a brat," said the killer in his gravelly voice. Ryoma's eyes widened.

"Wait…"

A shuriken hit the stranger right in the face. "AAAH!" Ryoma seized the opportunity and hit him with a side slash. "GAAAAH!"

"You don't get to scream yet!" Ryoma prepared another attack. "You haven't suffered enough!"

Ryoma swung, but the opponent had recovered in time and dodged. Kaze appeared behind him to attack, but the man turned around and cut the ninja with his own sword.

"Aaah! I've… failed… again…" Kaze went limp and fell over. Ryoma shuddered.

"First Mother and all those innocent people, now Kaze…"

"Actually I'm still alive," the ninja corrected.

"Be quiet, Kaze! I'm avenging your memory!"

Kaze would roll his eyes if he could keep them open. Then suddenly, he heard a noise. "Oh, that was fast…"

Ryoma and the swordfighter looked and found that Corrin had made it to the scene of the battle. The samurai gasped. "What is that?!"

"It's… It's Kamui…" Kaze breathlessly stated.

"Oh gods, she's not stopping, is she? Better move." Ryoma quickly jumped out of the way, just in time for Corrin to pounce onto the killer, and slam her front feet onto her prey repeatedly.

" ** _RAAAAAAAAAAAA!_** "

"Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow."

"Yeah," cheered the dragon's brother, "hit 'im once for me! And one to avenge Kaze too!"

Kaze moaned.

With a mighty roar, Corrin delivered the final blow on the killer, causing him to disintegrate. "What… a shame…"

Corrin was not finished rampaging though, and turned her attention to Ryoma. She growled. " ** _URRRRRRRR!_** "

"Whoa! Easy, Kamui! I'm your 'amigo' as they say in Nohr!"

Azura finally caught up to everyone else, singing a song the whole time. _"… 'Cause Uptown Funk gonna give it to ya/Saturday night and we in the spot/Don't believe me just wa-_ AAAH! _"_ She got jumped by Corrin, and found herself on her back. The dragon's foot clamped around her throat and brought its open mouth dangerously close to Azura's. "Not… cool… Corrin…"

_Not… cool… Corrin…_

_Cool… Corrin…_

_Corrin…_

**_Corrin…_ **

The dragon reeled back and let out an uncharacteristically weak roar, before shrinking in size. There was a bright flash of light, and suddenly the princess was back to normal, on her knees.

"My head…" She opened her eyes and saw Azura lying on the ground in pain. "Aaah! Azura, I'm so sorry!"

Azura weakly and silently gave a thumbs-up from her position on the ground. Corrin wiped her brow. "Phew! Good." Her eyes shot open. "OH GODS! I just remembered my father! And… my fake father- Oh gods!"

* * *

_King Garon and a samurai much like Ryoma were in a city together, at night. Garon wore a wicked grin._

_"YEEHAW!" Nothing happened. "…That means to shoot."_

_Before another word could be spoken, a spray of arrows soared through the air. Each of them hit the samurai. As the man stood there in pain, Garon waltzed up and pulled out a giant axe._

_"Heh-heh-heh! Like slaughterin' a pig!"_

_"PAPA! NOOOOO!"_

_"AAAAAHHH!"_

_"HEH-HEH-HEH-HEH! HAPPY TRAILS, SUMERAGI!"_

_"Waaaaah! Papaaaaa!"_

_Garon turned around and scowled._

_"Someone shut this brat up! … Aw, no matter."_

_He came closer._

_"I'm yer daddy now! What's yer name?!"_

_"I WANT MAMA!"_

_"Aaah! Danged brat! Whatever, I'll think of a name for you later!"_

* * *

Corrin was still in the ruined town square, as everyone else was gathering. Sakura was healing Azura, while Rinkah guided Corrin's other siblings over to Ryoma and Corrin.

"… And he ate corn that night and that's why he named me Corrin. It all came back to me!"

"Yeah, too little, too late," said Takumi, pouting.

Ryoma put a hand to his chin. "The Dawn Dragon's blood runs in our veins, while the Dusk Dragon's blood runs through the Nohrian royal family's veins. But you're the only one who can actually become a dragon…"

Azura weakly gave Corrin a glowing stone. "Here, take this Dragonstone. It'll let you turn back to normal if you turn into a dragon again."

"Wait, you just had that by coincidence?" asked Corrin. She still took the stone. "Wait, the festival! Nohr! We gotta-"

"We gotta get revenge!" Hinoka cried, punching her palm.

Corrin seemed lost. _Revenge… No, I have to know why Fath- King Garon would do that to me. But… Mother is dead… But I have to know! But… what is there to know?!_

Kaze sat up from his previous defeat. "Say, Lady Kamui. Didn't King Garon give you that sword himself? Right before we fought? You know, the one that exploded?"

Corrin's eyes widened. "… Oh gods he did. So it was his fault! ... Maybe."

Ryoma waved his hand. "Eh well at least you can know it wasn't your own fault, then."

"Uh, how do you know?" asked Takumi. "She shouldn't have come in the first place! Do any Hoshidans have exploding swords? No! But I bet Nohrians would come up with something like that! In their… exploding sword labs… I bet they have one!"

Takumi's rant was deteriorating, so he turned his attention to Corrin. "And you! You're not my sister, and you never were, _Corrin!"_ He put extra emphasis on her name. "I already have two sisters, I don't need any more!"

Sakura sniffled. "Wh-why didn't you include m-me, Takumi?"

"Yeah, what gives?!" asked Hinoka.

"What?! No, _you two_ are the sisters!" explained Takumi. "Azura doesn't count, she never counted!"

"Well. You're rude," Azura huffed.

Rinkah swung her fist excitedly. "Things are heating up!"

"You already used that one!" Kaze yelled.

Yukimura walked up to everyone and cleared his throat. "Ahem. If everyone is done bickering, I have an important message." The mechanist had everyone's full attention, and all went quiet. He began to sweat. "Uh, I… _stage fright… No, Yukimura, focus!_ " He slapped himself. "Okay! So as it turns out, Lady Mikoto had a feeling this would happen. She felt that King Garon might do something like this. Or perhaps an even bigger threat."

 _Bigger threat? Is it… Is it possible there's something making Nohr do this? But, how could that even work?_ Corrin stood back up. "Was there anything else?"

Yukimura nodded. "Yes. That."

He pointed at the ruined statue from the town square. A golden sword was sticking out. Suddenly it glowed and ejected itself from the statue, flying straight into Corrin's right hand.

" _Ta-daaaa!"_ Yukimura cheered. " _You found the divine blade, Yato. Equip it to your B Button and hack at bushes to find money!"_

"It was just in the statue?" asked Ryoma. "Huh. Takumi and I got our divine weapons in a less… odd way. Well whatever. Kamui, the Yato chose you. So you were meant to have it. These weapons don't make mistakes."

"First time for everything…" Takumi muttered, before Hinoka elbowed him again. "Aaah!"

Ryoma walked over and put a hand on Corrin's shoulder. "We're going to face the Nohrians, and we're going to get justice for what they did to our mother and these townspeople and Kaze."

Kaze angrily thumped his head on a ruined food stall. Repeatedly.

"Will you go with us, Sister?"

Corrin nodded. "All right… I will."

Kaze turned away from his aggravation. "Oh, just so you know- there are massive amounts of Nohrians gathering at our borders. So we should probably get on that."

Ryoma went off with Yukimura and Kaze, while Hinoka led Sakura and Takumi away. Rinkah just disappeared, leaving Azura alone with Corrin.

"I… don't know how to feel," confessed Corrin.

Azura shrugged. "Okay."

"I mean… I have the feeling I'll have to go up against my family from Nohr. I… really want to give Garon a piece of my mind, but… he's been my father. Except he killed my father… but revenge? Revenge sounds good, but it's still revenge…"

"Just do what you think is right. What could happen?"

* * *

_Note to self: yell at Azura later._

Corrin found herself in a field much like the one from her dreams. Right before her were the two eldest brothers in her life, prepared for combat. Behind them were the Nohrian forces. Behind Corrin herself was the Hoshidan army.

"Corrin!" Xander called. "You're safe! Hurry, Little Princess! We'll keep you safe from any Hoshidans!"

"Whoa there, pal. Kamui is _our_ princess," said Ryoma. "You and your evil king stole her from us!"

Corrin's anxiety deepened. "Xander… Nohr is invading Hoshido?!" _I shouldn't have doubted Kaze, but still… seeing it for myself…_

He nodded. "That's right. Father said their barrier had fallen, and that those, and I quote, 'danged hippies need to be dealt with' or something like that."

Ryoma glared. "The barrier fell because your country sabotaged a festival and killed our mother, the queen!"

Xander winced. "Ooh… He did _not_ mention that part…" Corrin felt hope. Perhaps Xander would be sympathetic, and this could be resolved peacefully. "Well unfortunate as it is, orders are orders."

Corrin almost felt her heart literally break.

"Xander…" But then, a familiar dragon's roar echoed, and it caught everyone's attention. Camilla and her wyvern were leading another troop of soldiers, including Leo and even Elise.

"My poor, poor Corrin! I'm so glad you're safe! What trials these brutes must have put you through!"

"Oh. Corrin. Good to see you're safe."

"Yaaay! Hi, Corrin!"

Corrin slowly nodded. Sakura walked closer to her. "K-Kamui, how do they know you? A-are these your other siblings?"

"Some family _they_ are! They let you get sent here and blow up our capital? If you really loved our mother, you'd cut them out of your life!" Takumi threatened.

"I bet they didn't even love you! Would they go searching for you if you went missing? I would! I _have!_ " declared Hinoka. Sakura tilted her head.

"B-big sister, didn't they just come here to look for Kamui?"

"Be quiet, I'm making a point!"

Ryoma turned away from the Nohrians to face Corrin. "Don't listen to these Nohrians, Kamui. They're scum, and will say anything to sell you their lies!"

Xander scoffed. "At least we don't dress our commanders as crustaceans! We have a thing called 'dignity' in Nohr!" He then turned to Corrin. "Come home, Little Princess. We can end this war right now, right here-"

" ** _RIGHT HERE!_** " said Guy Fujito from behind a bush.

"-and we can be a family again."

Corrin was petrified. "I… I…"

All eyes were on Corrin. She glanced around, seeing all of her siblings waiting for her answer.

Ryoma and Xander both seemed expectant. Hinoka and Elise might have broken into tears at the wrong word. Leo was simply waiting. Camilla tightened her grip on her dragon's reins. Sakura held her festal close. Out of all of them, however, Takumi seemed to be the only one as nervous as Corrin herself.

"I… I…" _What do I do?! These people took me in, and even ignoring Takumi, they ignored the circumstances of my arrival and treated me as if I were their own! Except, I_ am _their own, but I'd forgotten! I was meant to be with them! And now Garon has killed both my parents! I've seen it myself, he's a monster who stole my life!_

"Well…" _On the other hand, I can't just leave Xander and Camilla and the rest! Why would they follow someone so blatantly evil? I have to know the reason! And would Nohr really stop attacking if Hoshido put them down? Or would they resent Hoshido more? Do I even know if this is really Garon's fault?_

Corrin cleared her throat. _Can I get out of this? I love both my families too much! Maybe if I could run away and join a tournament… No, that probably wouldn't work. But maybe I could just not pick at all. Why's it all my responsibility anyway? They'd understand… right?_

The princess looked again and saw that everyone's expressions remained as they were. _Okay… I know what I have to do. I hope they can forgive me…_

Corrin took a deep breath. "All right. I…"

 

**_See Corrin stand with her birth family, seek justice and support Hoshido? Read Birthright: Gray Whirlpool (Storm)._ **

**_See Corrin stand with her adoptive family, seek truth and support Nohr? Read Conquest: Gray Whirlpool (Fire)._ **

**_See Corrin refuse to leave either family, and create her own destiny? Read Revelation: Gray Whirlpool (Flow)._ **

 

**_To be continued… one way or another._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you have it.
> 
> I will be writing both the Birthright and Conquest paths as separate stories from this one. Both will be uploaded as separate fics tomorrow.
> 
> Will I be doing Revelation? Maybe, but right now the focus is on Birthright and Conquest. And like I said, they will be separate fanfics, which is why it might be easier for you if I were already on your author alert list. And just so you know, Birthright and Conquest will update on the same days, at the same pace. Meaning that they will start and end together.
> 
> In the meantime, let's talk about this chapter. Corrin's opening thoughts about having two very similar, very important families always hit a nerve with me. It's such a specific and improbable circumstance that I could never project myself onto Corrin. I'm one of the few fans who actually likes Corrin (all versions), but I could still never project myself onto them, outside of picking their marriage options. Not good for an avatar.
> 
> The biggest new character introduced in this chapter is Takumi. Kind of went for the obvious joke by playing up his hatred and skepticism to exaggerated levels. Though I'm wondering if I really exaggerated all that much. He's a jerk when you first meet him. He grows out of it, but still... And, not to pat myself on the back, I like that bit where he still calls Corrin by her Nohrian name, as if it were an insult.
> 
> Ever since watching Vinesauce, Guy Fieri has been a bit of a running joke between me and all my friends, so I gave him a Hoshidan counterpart. We may or may not see more of Guy Fujito, if I deem it appropriate. And Kaze "died" again, poor guy. We also get more anachronistic songs from Azura. She name-drops the second song, but if you know her first song, that's pretty cool of you.
> 
> It was a little tricky balancing drama and humor in this chapter. I was leaning toward wanting more humor. But as for Chapter 6 (aka Chapter 1 of the two new stories), that will be a little more on the dramatic side (but not without some jokes).
> 
> So, tomorrow, I will upload two new stories, the Birthright and Conquest paths.


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